The Chicago Bulls officially announced today that team owner Ronzo Ball will not play the rest of the season for the second consecutive season.
In the summer of 2021, the Bulls signed Ball Brother on a four-year, $80 million contract through a sign-and-trade, signing Sartolansky, Temple and two second-round picks in a sign-and-trade deal.
Later, because the league confirmed that it was illegal recruitment, the Bulls were fined another second-round pick.
In the first 40 games of the season, Brother led the Bulls through a dreamy honeymoon period, averaging 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.9 blocks per game, shooting 3.1 three-pointers per game and shooting 42.3% from three-point range.
At that time, Brother Ball became the league's top defensive guard, and his three-point shooting percentage reached a career high, and the entire team improved under him.
In the first 40 games of the season, the Bulls achieved an impressive record of 27-13, beating the Heat, Bucks, Celtics, Nets and other Eastern Conference powerhouses, ranking first in the East.
On January 15, 2022, the Bulls played the last game before the Warriors were injured.
In the first quarter, he scored a game-high 12 points on 4-of-6 three-pointers, and in the third quarter he retired due to injury, playing only 23 minutes.
At that time, the Bulls team doctor diagnosed a bone contusion in the left knee, and after initial treatment, it was found that the effect was not good, and a new treatment was used to relieve the knee pain, and surgery was not considered.
Four days later, the Bulls discovered a slight tear in the meniscus in his left knee, and he had the option of not having surgery to observe the injuries daily. If the pain cannot be tolerated, a minor surgery can be undergone for rehabilitation.
After a day of consideration, Brother Qiu decided to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to treat his injury, and the expected absence at that time was 6-8 weeks.
Brother Qiu underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee at the end of January and was expected to return to the team by the end of March.
At that time, the Bulls were in turmoil, and their record was not as good as before, falling from first in the East to sixth in the East, and they urgently needed the return of Ball Brother.
In early April, the Bulls announced that the recovering Ball Brother would stop running training because the recovery of his knee during training was not as expected. After that, the Bulls announced that Ball Brother would be reimbursed for the season and would not play in all of the rest of the team's season, including the playoffs.
The Ball Brother ultimately failed to complete his return before the playoffs, and the Bulls stopped in the first round.
After the season, Brother Ball revealed in an interview that his knee recovery was stagnant.
The Bulls are very worried that his knees have not improved, he can't increase the intensity in training, and as long as he tries to increase the intensity of training, his knees will feel pain.
Brother Ball met with a number of experts in the field of knee injuries during the offseason and tried to recover, but no one knew the cause of his pain and discomfort.
The Bulls don't know what Brother Ball's knee injury is, and Brother Ball is also scratching his head.
After seeking unsuccessful help from various experts, Brother Qiu chose to undergo a second arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
The surgery Brother underwent at the end of September before the start of the new season comes eight months after his last surgery.
Eight months is enough time for the seriously injured person to fully recover, but Brother Qiu's injury does not seem to be progressing at all.
He revealed that he could not run or jump at all, and when his knees were bent to 30 to 60 degrees, he would be completely unable to use his strength and completely unable to control his body.
The doctor was also very surprised by the condition described by Brother Qiu, which they had never encountered at all.
Before this operation, the doctor did not know the cause of the disease, but just to enter Brother Qiu's knee and look inside the knee to find the cause of Brother Qiu's pain.
The expected recovery time after his second surgery is 4-6 weeks, and the Bulls are optimistic about his return in the new season.
It was expected that Brother Ball would return in January this year, and he had already started low-intensity running training in the water and on the treadmill in early November last year.
But soon, in mid-November, Bulls coach Donovan again talked about the injury, and said that the brother was recovering slowly and still did not start high-intensity running practice.
By mid-January, it was supposed to be the day of his return, but he himself said in despair that his injury had not progressed and that the possibility of playing this season was very low.
He still had pain and discomfort in his knees and was still unable to run.
Until now, the Bulls still don't know why Ball Brother's knee hurts, the doctors don't know, and Ball Brother himself and his team don't know it.
After the All-Star, the Bulls once again desperately announced that the ball brother will still feel unwell during high-intensity training, and this season is confirmed for reimbursement, and he will focus on continuing to address the pain and discomfort and return before the start of the 2023-24 season.
But, can he really recover? No one can give a definitive answer.
His injury has been stagnant in the 8 months of recovery last year, and now nearly 5 months have passed, and there is still no progress, will there be a miracle in another 8 months?
He has had three knee surgeries in six seasons in his career, and his attendance has been low.
So far in his career, he has played only 252 games, missed 197 games, and has only 56% attendance.
Ask Jun how many worries you have, choose a ball with the second pick, and it is still a glass ball.
Of course, the Lakers should not regret much, after all, the ball brother has contributed enough to them, as one of the chips in exchange for thick eyebrows, bringing the 17th championship trophy in team history.
If the Lakers really chose Tatum with the second pick, and then changed Tatum for thick eyebrows, it is estimated that they will regret it even more now.
Now the biggest headache about this is the Bulls, 80 million signed brother has only played 35 games, and does not know when they will be able to return, whether they can return.
Brother Ball has two years and $41.9 million left on his contract, and even if he doesn't play, it will take up the team's salary space unless it can be determined that his injury has reached the level of career reimbursement.
Will the 25-year-old become the next "genius ruined by injury" that people will lament in the future?