Report: Lakers shut down Lonzo for remainder of season with ankle injury
The Los Angeles Lakers have elected to shut down Lonzo Ball for the remainder of the 2018-19 season following a recent medical evaluation for his injured left ankle, league sources told The Athletic's Shams Charania.
The 21-year-old sophomore had his ankle re-examined by physicians Saturday, and the decision was mutually agreed upon to have him sit out the Lakers' remaining 17 games.
Head coach Luke Walton revealed Friday that Ball is nowhere near ready to return to action and that the priority for the young point guard moving forward is to get healthy and have a full offseason at his disposal.
"Lonzo hasn't had himself an offseason yet, as far as development, which is a huge part of when you get better at this level," Walton said, according to the Los Angeles Times' Tania Ganguli.
"And where we're at now, and not looking like he's close to being able to play yet, then, it's almost getting to the point where the true value comes from, 'Let's get him as healthy as possible so he has however many months this summer to really expand and keep working on his game.'"
Ball has been sidelined since Jan. 21, with the Lakers going 5-13 in his absence. He ends the year averaging 9.9 points on 40.6 percent shooting, 5.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.5 steals in 30.3 minutes across 47 appearances.
His teammate, Brandon Ingram, will also miss the rest of the campaign after being diagnosed with Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) in his arm.
The Lakers entered Saturday's matchup with the Boston Celtics with an overall record of 30-35, good enough for 11th in the Western Conference.