Los Angeles Lakers: Time to admit LaVar Ball was right about the Lakers

If Lonzo Ball had undergone surgery for his ankle, the Lakers might have voided his contract?

Remember when Lonzo Ball’s ankle injury was supposed to have him out for 4-6 weeks when he injured it against the Houston Rockets?

Well, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Lonzo Ball’s camp, headed up by the former business manager, Alan Foster, had plans to deal with his ankle problems by flying him to Ohio for surgery.

Here’s where it gets to be a problem. They neglected to let the Los Angeles Lakers in on the plan.

I’m nowhere near the insider Shams is so here’s what happened according to his report. 

"The Lakers found out about Ball’s situation when Lonzo Ball called General Manager Rob Pelinka, and the organization informed him that they would not allow it and could void his contract if he went through with the procedure, sources said. The Lakers then arranged transportation to bring Ball home, sources said. This could have been a disastrous moment for the Lakers, with a core player potentially undergoing a procedure that could have blindsided the organization. But Johnson and Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka communicated with those around Lonzo, working with his then-agent Harrison Gaines to squash the procedure and bring him back to Los Angeles, sources around the team with knowledge of the situation said. Gaines declined to comment when reached by phone."

Tania Ganguli confirmed the report.

Then, according to Charania, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka started taking a special interest in the rehab process of Lonzo Ball going forward.

"Johnson and Pelinka then accompanied Ball to his doctor appointments to ensure the guard was back on track with the Lakers’ rehab regimen, league sources said. Sources around the Lakers say Johnson frequently spent time around his players, such as Brandon Ingram and Ball, during times they were undergoing medical recovery. Ball suffered grade 3 ankle sprain on Jan. 19 and would ultimately miss the remainder of the season."

To Lonzo Ball and his camps defense they probably lost faith in the head trainer of the Lakers, Marco Nunez. The Lakers did too as they fired the day after the season ended.

To wrap this part of the story up, it’s not like Lonzo’s camp hadn’t “leaked” things out before. Remember when the Lakers were trying to nab Kawhi Leonard?

Now let’s try to break down LaVar’s interview statements, shall we?