Why the Lakers should pursue Lonzo Ball over re-signing Dennis Schroder
By Jason Reed
3. Lonzo Ball fits better on the Los Angeles Lakers
Lonzo Ball already played one season with LeBron James and his numbers went down from his rookie season. Ball needs the basketball to be successful, right? So playing alongside LeBron James is a bad fit for him, right?
Wrong. Ball’s numbers did go down in year two but that was not a byproduct of LeBron James being in town. Ball dealt with injuries that season and only played 47 games. LeBron missed significant time as well. It was a change, but the two did not get as much time to play together as expected and even when they did, LeBron and Lonzo were the third-best two-man combination on the Lakers that season in terms of offensive rating.
What makes Ball a better fit than Schroder is the fact that he actually does not need the basketball to succeed. It sounds ironic, I know, but Ball is a special kind of point guard that keeps up the temp and keeps the ball moving.
He has great passing and can absolutely take the ball up the court and run a half-court offense, but he is also someone who can be an off-ball passing threat. Nothing is more indicative of that than his usage rate.
Ball has a career-high usage rate of 19.7% this season and he is putting up better numbers than Schroder, who has a usage rate of 23.7%.
That 4% difference is significant and Schroder actually has a far lower usage rate than before. He has hit above 30% before in his career. He is someone who looks his best when his usage rate is high. Chances are, is Dennis Schroder has a 30% usage rate, then you probably are not looking at a great basketball team.
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Lonzo Ball makes more sense financially, is a better player and is a better fit next to LeBron James while also being capable of running the offense when LeBron doesn’t. He is miles ahead of Dennis Schroder.