Finally, Ezeli told himself, the time had come to contact teams in hopes of returning to the NBA. When the G League season starts next week at a bubble environment in Orlando, Ezeli will be part of a waiver pool that allows franchises to claim him. At any point over the following month or so, he could receive a call from someone asking him to pack his bags, board a flight to Florida and play his first pro game in nearly half a decade. At age 31 with an extensive injury history, Ezeli is an unlikely member of basketball’s striving class. In 2016, while with the Trail Blazers after the Warriors renounced his rights in order to sign Kevin Durant, he was diagnosed with a defect in the cartilage of his left knee. Doctors told Ezeli that he needed experimental surgery. His playing days almost certainly seemed over.