The Athletic’s Shams Charania has offered more details on Zach LaVine’s offseason plans.
The unrestricted free agent will reportedly undergo surgery in the coming weeks. LaVine will receive a scope on his left knee to address the ongoing discomfort he felt throughout the 2021-22 season.
Bulls All-Star Zach LaVine to undergo scope procedure on left knee in the coming weeks, sources say. Details: pic.twitter.com/lViTnR8nVu
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 12, 2022
Of course, information about surgery for LaVine is nothing new. The Sun-Times reported in April that LaVine would “almost immediately” have surgery once the team’s season came to an end. The report also reiterated that there appeared to be no degenerative issue in LaVine’s knee, signaling that there shouldn’t be concern about a long-term problem.
LaVine also didn’t play coy when speaking with reporters about a potential offseason fix during the regular season. While he didn’t necessarily specify that surgery would be on the table, he did refer to his midseason meeting with a specialist as more of a “Band-Aid” and that he would “deal with it later.”
Charania made clear that LaVine is expected to make a full recovery. We’ll likely have a much better timeline on exactly how long he’ll be sidelined after a surgery date is revealed. However, all things considered, a scope procedure isn’t the most invasive. Lonzo Ball had similar work down earlier this season and was dealt a six-to-eight week recovery timeline. To be sure, Ball did suffer setbacks in his recovery, but that appeared due to an ongoing bone bruise.
We’ll have to wait and see exactly what comes of this surgery (hopefully, it all goes smoothly), but the expectation remains that LaVine will be among “the most sought-after free agents” on the market this summer, per Charania.
More on LaVine’s NBA future below …
League Executives Believe Zach LaVine “Could be in Play” This Summerhttps://t.co/MJmvcRoNJi pic.twitter.com/9z650uFsRn
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) May 10, 2022