Los Angeles Lakers: 5 most important questions facing team
By Ed Schrenzel
1) How quickly will Lonzo Ball adapt to the NBA?
As every Lakers fan knows, the team selected Ball with the No. 2 pick in the June draft. He shined in the Summer League, where he garnered MVP honors.
High expectations accompany him. Not only will he almost certainly step right into the lineup this season as their starting point guard (and hopefully remain so for the at least the next decade), but he’s also being counted on to play a primary role in leading the team back to relevance.
In Ball’s introductory team news conference, Magic even said he anticipates that Lonzo’s jersey will eventually hang in the rafters along with that of other all-time Laker greats.
Most every NBA analyst and scout believe that Ball will develop into a top NBA point guard. At UCLA and in the Summer League, he showed that he is a first-rate passer with outstanding court vision, drawing comparisons to Jason Kidd and even Magic himself.
However, college stars commonly struggle at first while adapting to the speed of the NBA game as well as the quality of competition, especially after just one year of NCAA play.
How long will it take Ball to acclimate to the NBA and assert himself? How soon can he be trusted to run the team? Will he indeed be the next Lakers superstar, or will he fall short of projections?