Los Angeles Lakers: 1 potential trade target from each non-playoff team
By Jason Reed
New Orleans Pelicans: Lonzo Ball
Anyone that follows my work here at Lake Show Life (first, thank you) knows that I am a big fan of Lonzo Ball. Have been a big fan of his since his days at Chino Hills High School and when he was drafted second overall to the Lakers it was surreal.
That being said, I may be a bit biased but I do not think it is wrong to say that Ball is the perfect point guard for this team. Yes, his numbers went down with LeBron in LA and his jump shot was a mess in LA, but he has improved leaps and bounds.
Ball’s three-point and free-throw percentage have both skyrocketed way up from his days with the Lakers and while his defensive metrics have gone down, he has the natural ability to be a good defender and would re-find that groove as a member of Frank Vogel’s Lakers.
Ball is the perfect fit as he gives the team that secondary playmaker next to LeBron James that ironically does not need a huge usage rate to be effective. Whether he is taking the ball up the court himself or dishing out an outlet pass after a feed from LeBron, Ball sees the court very well and helps move the basketball.
Ball is a restricted free agent this summer and it would take a sign-and-trade from both him and Dennis Schroder to make it happen. If the Pelicans don’t like the fit of Ball, I would not be totally shocked to see them flip point guards with the Lakers, adding in the 22nd pick and maybe tweaking some of the protections on a future pick that the Pelicans already own as well.