Lakers Rumors: Lonzo Ball has work cut out for him to go No. 2

Los Angeles Lakers Rumors: It seems like the team was never as high on Lonzo Ball as originally thought.

Los Angeles Lakers rumors have really picked up in recent days. With the 2017 NBA Draft quickly approaching, teams are prepping their draft boards as workouts have gotten underway. The Lakers have double the work, as they own the No. 2 and No. 28 overall picks.

The Lakers would like to add help with both selections, but the No. 2 is what people are paying the most attention to. The player garnering the most attention there is UCLA point guard, Lonzo Ball.

Ball to the Lakers has been talked about so much, even people living under a rock probably have heard about it. Ball’s father, LaVar, has been vocal about wanting his son to play for Los Angeles. It would keep him close to home, as Lonzo played high school basketball at Chino Hills before playing for UCLA in college.

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When the Lakers were awarded the second pick via the NBA Draft Lottery, it looked like the Ball’s wishes would come true. The Lakers defied the odds, moving up from the third spot into the second. It put them squarely in position to select Ball, who many consider the second best prospect in this year’s draft class behind Washington point guard, Markelle Fultz.

The Lakers, who were reportedly enamored with Ball, had to be jumping for joy. They would have a legitimate chance at selecting the prospect they coveted. But, as the draft has gotten closer, the Lakers feelings may have changed.

It was reported that if the NBA Draft was last weekend, the Lakers would not have selected Ball. Sources indicated that the Lakers are not sold on Ball being a star and have concerns about LaVar. This could just be some posturing on part of the Lakers. At this time of year, there are plenty of false reports and smoke screens set up by teams.

But, when there is smoke there is usually fire. The report from the weekend seems to have some legs. According to Scott Howard-Cooper, Ball has never been a lock for the Lakers as many people assumed. De’Aaron Fox is a big reason why, as Howard-Cooper believes that Fox is going to kill the interviews, which will help move him up team’s draft boards.

If this is the case, Ball will have a lot of work to do later this week in his workout. Ball is set to workout, by himself, for the Lakers on Thursday. The workout will be important, but he is also set to meet with the coaching staff and front office personnel. It sounds like he will have to absolutely blow them away both on and off the court to secure being the second overall pick.

Ball has already turned down an offer to workout for the Boston Celtics, owners of the first overall pick. There have been talks that he could workout for the Philadelphia 76ers, owners of the third pick.

The strategy that Ball has set up for the draft process may backfire on him. It was just a few weeks ago that he seemed to be a lock for the second overall pick.

Next: 5 Non-Lonzo Ball Prospects For Lakers To Consider

Now, it sounds like he will have to earn the right to be selected second overall. Other prospects continue to show their worthiness of being selected that high, putting pressure on Ball to perform.