The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly enamored with UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball.
The Los Angeles Lakers are hopeful that they will be able to add another talented young player to their roster in the 2017 NBA Draft. The Lakers will have an additional selection at 28th overall, a pick they acquired from the Houston Rockets at the NBA Trade Deadline for Lou Williams. The pick everyone will be paying attention to is their own selection.
Right now, the Lakers hold the third spot in the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery. The Lakers are crossing their fingers that the lottery does not produce any surprises, unless it’s moving them up in the draft order. If the lottery balls do not fall the Lakers’ way, and they fall out of the top three, their pick will be sent over to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Not only would they lose this year’s draft pick, but their 2019 first-rounder will also be shipped out of town to the Orlando Magic. The Lakers are hoping that does not happen, as this year’s draft class has some very talented players at the top.
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One of those talented players is UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball. Ball helped lead the Bruins to the Sweet 16 in his freshman season. It was a big turnaround for UCLA, who went 31-5 in 2016-17 after going a dismal 15-17 the previous season.
There were plenty of reasons for the Bruins improvement, but Ball was a driving force. If it were up to his father, LaVar Ball, Lonzo would be staying in California and playing for the Lakers. That is where he would prefer his son play, and Lonzo would like to play for his hometown team as well.
"“The Lakers are in L.A., and they’re close to home,” Ball told The Vertical. “This is where all my family is. Hopefully, they have a nice pick and they have a chance to get me. I want this to be realistic. Just being very family-oriented, to play in front of them would mean a lot to me. The Lakers are a young team and they have a lot of young talent.”"
Ball also discussed how much he would like to learn from former Lakers great, and current Lakers president of basketball operations, Magic Johnson. Ball believes that he can learn a lot from Johnson, who was a bigger point guard much like Ball is.
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It sounds clear that Ball would like to play for the Lakers; he made sure that it was known he is happy to play with any of the 30 NBA teams, but the Lakers would be special for him. It sounds as if the Lakers share a mutual feeling.
According to ESPN’s Chad Ford, the Lakers are enamored with the UCLA product.
"The Lakers appear to be enamored with Ball, a local product who could add star power to a team desperately in search of it. But they’ll likely have to land in the top two to get him."
Prior to taking the job, Johnson, in a conversation with Jeanie Buss, said that the Lakers roster is currently lacking someone with star potential to build around. He mentioned Luke Walton as the person to build around, according to Buss when she was on the Open Run Podcast.
Ball would give the Lakers that potential star as a homegrown talent. His family is from the area and he would be a big draw after playing his college basketball at nearby Pauley Pavilion.
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Will the ping pong balls fall in favor of Los Angeles so it has a chance to select Ball? The Lakers are certainly hoping so, as Ball would give them more talent to help build the foundation to their next championship team.