Los Angeles Lakers: 2017 Draft grades

No. 2 — Lonzo Ball

The inevitable is finally reality.

The Los Angeles Lakers selected Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick in the 2017 Draft.

After all of the rumors — they are going to take him, they aren’t going to take him, they’re going to trade the pick — the only thing coming between the Lakers and Ball on draft night was a bad phone connection, with the media conference line accidentally hanging up on Lonzo due to an incoming call.

In Ball, the Lakers are hoping to reinvigorate Showtime basketball. The 6’6″ guard is best known for his feel for the game and passing abilities. At UCLA, 30 percent of his offensive possessions were in transition, scoring a respectable 1.12 points per each of those possessions, per Synergy data.

When he is not running down the floor, he is a lethal shooter, ranking in the 95th percentile of college players in spot-up shooting. His delivery might be funky, but the results are in rhythm.

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Where Ball might have some difficulty adapting to the pro game is when things slow down and he is asked to facilitate pick-and-rolls in the half court offense. This speaks again to the questionable move by the Lakers to trade away D’Angelo Russell; he would have helped Ball flourish as a passer and shot-maker, while creating mismatches through pick-and-rolls himself. Russell led the Lakers in such possessions last season.

The Lakers’ roster is fluid, so it’s hard to predict who Ball’s long-term backcourt mate will be. What makes Ball so valuable is his ability to both facilitate and play off the ball, making it easier on the Lakers to find a match, whether they pair him with a ball dominant guard or another shooter. Lonzo doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective, he can score off catch-and-shoots and cuts to the basket. His passing abilities, meanwhile, are second to none.

Defensively, there is disagreement on Ball’s potential, ranging from it being a major weakness in his game to expecting him to develop into an adequate defender. This is probably the most difficult thing to predict based on college performance, since the NBA requires a different skillset, athleticism, and scheme understanding to defend than in the college level.

In the end, the Lakers got their guy (Dad included), so they should be happy.

Draft Grade: A