Bulls guard Lonzo Ball optimistic for a return, but also realistic

PARIS – Lonzo Ball stood just off of the basketball court of the Palais des sports Marcel-Cerdan on Monday, discussing his future – both immediate and long term.

The Bulls guard would have liked to offer up more details on his left knee rehab. He would have been all for giving a definitive timetable for a return. Heck, in a perfect world, he wouldn’t have been conducting an interview just off to the side of the court, but would have practiced on it with his teammates just minutes earlier.

However, that’s not the space Ball can operate in just yet.

And the unknown remained when?

“Yeah, I would love to play,’’ Ball said, when asked if a return this season seemed plausible. “I would never count…