Los Angeles Lakers: 3 reasons to add Lonzo Ball with a sign-and-trade
Lonzo Ball gives the Los Angeles Lakers a secondary playmaker
Coming into the NBA, it is fair to say that Lonzo Ball was a relatively raw prospect.
His jump shot was clunky, his body wasn’t fully NBA ready, his offensive game wasn’t the most polished in the class and he had questions surrounding his ability to defend.
The one area of his game that scouts and front office personnel all agreed was elite was his ability as a playmaker.
Capable on a regular basis of making a jaw-dropping pass that would leave the defense wondering what had just happened.
Lonzo would frequently throw full-court passes like Aaron Rodgers right into the hands of his target which led to endless easy buckets for his teammates at Chino Hills and UCLA.
He continued this when drafted to the Lakers. This was incredibly apparent during the Summer League when Ball would frequently find Kyle Kuzma in transition for easy buckets.
LeBron James became the recipient of some of these highlight reel passes and benefited greatly.
After being traded to New Orleans, Zion Williamson became the beneficiary of the full court passes that led to Zion getting so many easy dunks and alley-oops.
If Lonzo were to come back to Los Angeles, he would be able to hit the ground running.
While LeBron James is considered to be the Lakers primary ball-handler, having a passing talent like Lonzo Ball on the floor allows for LeBron to not have to facilitate as much, meaning that he isn’t expending as much energy getting everyone else involved, which in turn allows for LeBron to take extended rests as he won’t be worry about whether the team is able to move the ball fluidly and get buckets when he isn’t on the floor which has proven to be the case since Lonzo left.
This means that LeBron is fully healthy and relatively rested come playoff time.
So while Lonzo will be considered the secondary playmaker for the purple and gold, his responsibilities to quarterback the Lakers offense will be of the utmost importance.