NBA Draft: Who gets Lonzo Ball?
When the NBA Draft rolls around in June after the Finals are done and the Larry O’Brien Trophy finds a new home, there will plenty of chaos. Usually, the NBA Draft is a rather sleepy affair, with one or two kids being potential all stars, and the rest being role players or unknowns for most fans from Europe.
This year, everything we have ever known about the draft is going to be turned on its ear. Why? LaVar Ball and his son, Lonzo. Lonzo has been a tremendous player for the UCLA Bruins this past season, looking like one of the best point guards to come out of the college game in some time. Despite only one year in Westwood, Ball reminds some of the best point guards to play the game, coming out of school with his ability to find teammates and shoot the deep ball.
However, most would also agree that Ball is not the best guard coming out of the draft, once more speaking to the depth of this particular class. That distinction would go to Markelle Fultz out of the University of Washington. Yet Ball disagrees with those sentiments, telling the host of a ESPN Radio show as much on Tuesday morning out in Los Angeles.
“Markelle’s a great player, but I feel I’m better than him,” said Ball, who led the Bruins to a pair of blowout victories over Fultz’s Huskies this season.
“I think I can lead a team better than him,” Ball added. “Obviously he’s a great scorer — he’s a great player, so I’m not taking that away from him.”
Ball might be proven right, but teams could shy away from him early on. If the draft class was terrible and he was the one shining star with the best chance to make a real impact, teams would overlook that his father, LaVar, continues to make one outlandish statement after the next (while reportedly being a maniac at his son’s high school games, claiming he owns Chino Hills and UCLA).
The Ball family is from the shadow of Los Angeles, and if the NBA Draft Lottery holds true, the Lakers will be picking second in the draft. Should the Bosotn Celtics (who own the Brooklyn Nets’ pick) take Fultz to pair with Isaiah Thomas, would Magic Johnson take Ball and did with the insanity? He could very easily pull the trigger on another unique talent such as Josh Jackson, a freshman sensation with the Kansas Jayhawks.
If Ball gets past the Lakers, there is a real chance he winds up with the New York Knicks. Can you imagine LaVar Ball, James Dolan and New York City? From a ratings perspective, the NBA would be jumping for joy.
