Could the Los Angeles Lakers reunite with Lonzo Ball?
In conclusion, the ball is in New Orleans’ court
The New Orleans Pelicans are under no pressure to move Lonzo Ball.
They have him under contract for at least two more years. There is a real chance that within that time frame, Lonzo makes the jump and realizes the potential that fans of the purple and gold saw from day one.
Nobody would begrudge the Pelicans for keeping him.
However, the Pelicans would be locking themselves into a player that they are currently unsure about.
Lonzo was expected to be Jrue Holidays replacement, making Holiday expendable and in turn allow the Pelicans to cash in on Holiday and get even more assets moving forward.
By the looks of things, Holiday’s reign as the lead guard for the Pelicans is safe for now.
Lonzo is nowhere near the scorer Holiday is, Jrue is equally if not a better defender and a more versatile player for the Pelicans. Yes, he costs significantly more than Lonzo currently but Lonzo will want to get paid when the time comes and it doesn’t seem likely that they are going to offer Lonzo the money he wants.
If they come to a mutually beneficial arrangement that allows Lonzo to stay long term and for the Pelicans not to commit major money to a player they have reservations about then it would be a great deal for the Pelicans.
If they have second thoughts about Lonzo, then they could do a lot worse than the Lakers offer, and with a lottery pick and a glut of the Lakers picks moving forward, they can move up within the draft and take someone like Tyrese Haliburton from Iowa State who has been described as Lonzo Ball with a jump shot.
The ball is most certainly in the Pelicans court.
They hold all the cards, all the Los Angeles Lakers can do is offer what they can and hope they land their former 2nd overall pick who could be an important part of the Lakers roster going into the 2020-21 NBA season.