LOS ANGELES _ Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball won't be ready to participate in five-on-five drills when training camp starts next week, coach Luke Walton said in an interview with Spectrum SportsNet.
The decision runs counter to the Lakers' original plan for Ball. When he had knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus in July, the team said Ball would make a full recovery by the start of training camp.
Walton indicated a reluctance to rush Ball back from the surgery.
"He won't be doing full five-on-five contact at camp, at the start of camp, so we're starting to ease him into it again, play some one-on-one, things like that, half-court stuff," Walton said during the interview.
"But with a player of his ability, and how much he's going to be a part of our future, the conversation is ... take as much time as you need to make sure he's healthy. We won't rush him back at all."
The July surgery was to treat the third injury to Ball's right knee and the fourth significant injury he has had since the start of his rookie year last fall.
He missed 30 games last season because of a combination of a sprained right medial collateral ligament, a bruised right knee and a sprained shoulder.
In May, Ball had a platelet rich plasma injection in his right knee, which limited the work he could do on the court during that month. That procedure can treat various joint ailments, but apparently did not fully alleviate the problem.
