Lonzo Ball May Miss Rest of Lakers Preseason with Ankle Injury, Says Luke Walton

Los Angeles Lakers fans may have to wait until the regular season to see Lonzo Ball take the floor again.

Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com reported the rookie won't play in Sunday's preseason contest against the Sacramento Kings because of a sprained ankle. Head coach Luke Walton didn't dismiss the chance the rookie could miss the rest of the preseason. 

"I hope not, but yeah, that's a possibility," Walton said, per Youngmisuk. "It is different with every player. He is new to the team, so we've got to see how long these types of injuries take him to come back from. We'd like to have him back, but again, we are not going to rush him back just to try to get him out there."

The UCLA product suffered the injury Monday when he landed on the foot of Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay.

Walton said he thinks Ball will return by the Lakers' regular-season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 19 but noted the team will exercise caution when making that decision.

That should come as no surprise. Ball figures to be a major part of the organization's future after it selected him with the No. 2 overall pick. He already won the Las Vegas Summer League MVP—which did nothing to slow the hype surrounding his debut campaign—and will be tasked with leading this once-great franchise back into postseason contention.

He will be part of a young core alongside Brandon Ingram, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. and Julius Randle once he is healthy, but his long-term availability is far more important than preseason and even early regular-season games.