Los Angeles Lakers: Reasons why Kyrie Irving, LeBron James should be reunited
2. Lakers aren’t married to Ball
At the beginning of his rookie season, Lonzo Ball was lauded as the new face of the Lakers. Heck, Magic Johnson said it himself. Now, however, it wouldn’t come as any sort of surprise if the young facilitator was sent packing this offseason.
Based on rumors we heard ahead of the 2019 trade deadline, the Lakers weren’t shy about their attempts to shop him.
It got to the point where Ball’s camp was leaking information about his desire to play for certain teams, namely the Phoenix Suns.
That came from the Los Angeles Times’ Tania Ganguli, who also confirmed Ball wasn’t very interested in joining the New Orleans Pelicans as part of a potential deal for Anthony Davis.
After learning of the Lakers’ offers to the Pelicans, Lonzo Ball’s camp maintains that New Orleans isn’t the desired destination. Phoenix makes the most basketball sense if Ball were to be traded and according to two sources there is mutual interest.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) January 31, 2019
Either way, the main point here is that a rift is already forming between Ball and the Lakers. It’s not to the point of the relationship being beyond repair, but there’s tension.
If it continues to fester in the coming months, we could see the Lakers simply decide to call it quits on the former No. 2 overall pick. Luckily for them, there should be plenty of interested parties willing to take him off their hands.
If Ball was still considered a centerpiece in Los Angeles, then an Irving signing wouldn’t make much sense. With the passing-minded point guard far from secure, though, it’s not out of the question for the Lakers to replace him with LeBron’s former co-star.
It’s not like Rajon Rondo is the long-term answer at the 1 anyways.