Justin Lewis suffers potentially serious knee injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Justin Lewis, an undrafted free agent whom the Chicago Bulls immediately moved to sign to a two-way contract, has suffered a knee injury and there is concern it could be diagnosed as a torn ACL, per sources.
The Marquette University product suffered the injury during an offseason workout away from the team after playing for the Bulls at NBA Summer League. The forward averaged 7.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks over 22.5 minutes while in Las Vegas.
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The Bulls verbally agreed to a two-way deal with Lewis, a 6-foot-7-inch, 235-pound forward, on the same June 23 night that---surprisingly---no team selected him in the NBA draft. The Bulls then officially announced the deal on July 7.
Internally, there was optimism Lewis eventually could be a contributor at the NBA level thanks in large part to his 7-2 wingspan and physicality. Lewis earned first-team honors on the All-Big East team in 2021-22 after also capturing the conference’s most improved player award last season.
The Bulls are hoping for improved health this season. But Lewis’ injury further clouds that situation. Last month, while also emphasizing that Lonzo Ball is progressing from his January left knee injury, executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas said the recovery is “probably not at the speed that we would like.”
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A source said Ball continues to progress, although his readiness for the start of training camp is unknown.
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