NO MOVEMENT WITHOUT BALL
As draft nears, wavering Lakers need to recommit to UCLA guard, the right choice to push their rebuilding effort forward
Whenever chaos engulfed the UCLA basketball team during games this past season, Lonzo Ball usually had the perfect response.
Dribbling downcourt, instead of making his usual pass, he would suddenly stop behind the three-point line, trust his instincts, and fire.
Moon shot, big splash, order restored. When it comes to figuring out what could be the most important draft pick in franchise history this week, the Lakers need to adopt the same philosophy. Slow down, trust your instincts, take the big shot. The Lakers need to ignore the growing piles of clutter and simply draft Ball, and while that’s been written here before, it bears repeating because it seems everyone in El Segundo is starting to sweat.
They’re suddenly concerned about Ball’s toughness, even though he led his Chino Hills High team and UCLA to a combined 48 straight victories while under the heat of a clamoring public and overbearing father.
They’re now worried about his defense, even though that defense was the hallmark of the Bruins’ run to the Sweet 16.
They’re concerned about his nonchalant body language, but that’s just how he looks. Anyone who watched the Bruins regularly knows this. He looked especially bored when he had 11 rebounds while helping UCLA erase a 19-point deficit in a win against Oregon. He looked really blah when he had nine assists in the second half of a second-round
[Plaschke, NCAA tournament win over Cincinnati.
The Lakers thought his solo workout last week was just average, but his strength is not as a solo player. The Lakers are becoming enamored with the size and athleticism of Kansas’ Josh Jackson, but they cannot ignore Ball’s vision and smarts.
Ball is a perfect fit for their offense. He’s a perfect fit for Luke Walton’s system. He’s an imperfect player who indeed needs to work on his shot and his defense, but he has the sort of court awareness and basketball IQ that just cannot be taught.
I watched Ball do these things all season at UCLA, at least until he was mauled by De’Aaron Fox of Kentucky in the Sweet 16 after suffering an apparent hamstring injury.
The Lakers saw the same thing, and understood the big picture. Despite all the hometown and family pressure, Ball helped UCLA rebound from a 15-win, non-tournament season to a 31-5 record and two tournament wins.
The Lakers got it. Nearly a month ago, this was a slam dunk. When they were awarded the No. 2 overall pick in the draft lottery, they were prepared to take him on the spot.
But since then, the reality of the enormous pressure surrounding this pick has made them all a little dizzy.
There is pressure on Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka to connect on their first big swing together. This cannot be a whiff. They cannot make a mistake. The future of the rebuilding franchise depends on it. Their reputation as the new Lakers leaders rests on it.
There is pressure under the distant yet looming presence of Jerry West. Who knows young players better than the Lakers icon?
Yet the Lakers had no room for West in their front office, and now he’s decided to leave the Golden State Warriors for the Clippers.
There is pressure from their fans who would love to see them take the local kid, making Ball the safest pick, although the Lakers should not listen to that. At this point, the safest thing they can do is actually start winning again.
There is so much pressure here, the Lakers obviously have to do their due diligence, and so they have. They brought in Jackson for a second workout, even though they already have Brandon Ingram, because the Warriors showed the power of using multiple big, skilled wings with the likes of Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala.
All this examination is good. All this research is comforting. And by all accounts, Lakers management is not fighting over their favorites, but unified in their stance.
And that stance is, they’re still not sure.
This is, incidentally, not about any fears over potential distractions caused by Ball’s father LaVar. They know the Lakers brand is far bigger than his bluster. LaVar will be no factor in this decision.
Even minor concerns about Lonzo’s constant deference to his father’s nutty behavior were quelled this week with the release of a hilarious Foot Locker commercial in which Lonzo mocks his father’s domineering style.
The Lakers still aren’t sure, because they’re just not sure Lonzo Ball is good enough.
Yet if they look at the last six months instead of the last six minutes, and then look past their fears and around the draft room, they’ll surely come to this realization: Who’s better?
Slow down, trust your instincts, take the big shot.