Lonzo Ball’s time with the Chicago Bulls has been nothing but setbacks and frustration.

A promising start was undone by a knee injury and multiple surgeries that have kept Ball off the court for over 2.5 years.

He’s finally back to playing five-on-five and hopes to be ready to go at the start of next season.

But hope is all it really is, as the Bulls can’t count on him to be part of their plans in either the short or long term and anything they get from Ball next season, whether its impactful bench play or cap relief in a trade, would be gravy for Chicago.

Everyone is cheering for Ball, but he has long odds to overcome if he ever wants to play in the NBA again.

Lonzo Ball injury update: Can he make medical history?

Playing in scrimmages is great, but it’s a far cry from the talent and physicality Ball will face if he returns to the NBA.

Before that happens, he has to show he is healthy, and so far, there haven’t been any setbacks according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times (subscription).

Cowley also noted that the experimental procedure that Ball went through is one that no professional athlete has ever returned from. Let that sink in for a second for those who think Ball is going to return to form.

It’s possible that he will, but it’s also possible that this is the sort of thing you never come back from, a reality Ball and the Bulls may have to face if he has any sort of setback.

It’s not going to affect the Bulls’ plans one way or another, as of right now, Lonzo Ball is not in them and will have to make medical history if he wants to be.

It will be an amazing story if Ball can make it back onto the court after all this time, but if he can’t, his career will remain a huge what-if, as he was really just starting to come into his own and the team was playing well when he was healthy.

You have to wonder what the Bulls might look like if Ball had never injured that knee but unfortunately, we can’t go back in time and his future is still murky at best.