Lakers Rumors: Latest Buzz on Lonzo Ball, D'Angelo Russell and More
The Los Angeles Lakers face good problems this offseason.
It's a drastic change in tone around the franchise, no doubt, but for once the questions around the team amount to what should be a net positive gain regardless of how Magic Johnson and the front office chooses to answer them.
The Lakers hold the second pick in the draft and the train suggesting the team will go ahead and take UCLA's Lonzo Ball left the station long ago and isn't slowing.
On one hand, drafting a pass-first point like Ball makes all the sense in the world, especially if the coaches then shift D'Angelo Russell to the 2. It's a nice on-paper outlook for the future, though it does come with the hurdle known as the headline-grabbing LaVar Ball.
Alas, the one thing that could derail the Lonzo train and cause LaVar to pull out his nonexistent hair is the Lakers deciding to go with another prospect at No. 2. This is an idea floated recently by Spectrum Sportsnet's Chris McGee on Locked on Lakers (h/t Silver Screen & Roll's Harrison Faigen).
"I absolutely do not think it's a foregone conclusion, I actually think it's probably 50/50, 60/40 in favor of Ball in the Lakers front office. Guys love De'Aaron Fox in that front office, because what's there not to love?" McGee said.
It's a notable development, though not one necessarily hard to see coming. Ball is a big point guard at 6'5" and 195 pounds with the best passing skills in the draft, yet he lacks the elite athleticism a team picking second might covet.
Kentucky's De'Aaron Fox, on the other hand, has solid size at 6'3" and 169 pounds and is a freak athlete who collapses defenses and gets others involved when he slashes to the rim—and he doesn't come with the drama LaVar provides.
Either way, all these rumblings in a point-heavy class naturally throw a question mark over the future of Russell. It doesn't help that teams started sniffing around the Lakers about Russell as soon as the draft lottery ended, according to Sports Illustrated's Jake Fischer.
Lakers fans, though, will be the first to point out Russell might have what it takes to succeed at the 2. He moonlighted there as last season wound down and looked good on his way to averaging 15.6 points per game on 40.5 percent shooting and 35.2 percent from deep.
This is a good time to bring up the fact NBA.com's David Aldridge recently wrote that "while the Lakers haven't given up on D'Angelo Russell, his NBA future looks more off the ball than on it."
Russell's future with the Lakers might simply come down to upside. And while the draft class highlights his situation, he's far from the only player Magic and the front office might dangle on the block in the coming weeks.
According to NBA.com's Sam Smith, the Lakers might look to "dump one of those big contracts that resulted in a management change." In other words, the $64 million contract belonging to Timofey Mozgov might go on the block for cheap, as might veteran forward Luol Deng.
One player the Lakers won't deal? Last year's second overall pick, Brandon Ingram. Magic himself said as much during an interview with ESPN Los Angeles recently, according to ESPN.com's Baxter Holmes:
"I would say probably the only player that we would say, hey, we would probably not move is Brandon Ingram. I think that we're excited about Brandon, his length, his size, his agility, his athleticism. And then when you think about, you know, he was a baby coming in, in his first year last season and we see that he really has a high ceiling and we're excited about what he can possibly turn into."
It's clear, based on outright comments and a bevy of rumors, that the Lakers are more than happy to keep building through the draft and hoping the young players keep on an upward trajectory.
Which isn't to suggest the Lakers won't make a move if one presents itself. But even the popular idea of the Lakers going after Paul George simmers when getting an inside look at the thought process there, per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical:
This makes the Lakers sound content to take the patient approach, even if the Indiana Pacers clearly aren't building well around George and he didn't make an all-NBA team, increasing the odds he'll ignore the team's long-term offers and hit the open market.
There, the Lakers might be George's first choice because he hails from California and he "believes he can lift the Lakers out of the darkness," according to Sam Amick of USA Today.
George's beliefs aside, Magic doesn't sound too inclined to give up so many future assets for a guy who might come to town anyway. And this budding core—which only gets better with a top-two pick—is to the point where other big names like George might no longer glance over the Lakers as a potential destination.
So, yes, deciding which prospect to take, how to play the trade market, if at all, and free agency are finally good problems for the Lakers.
Options abound, and while the decisions are critical, it's hard not to cast the Lakers in a positive hue.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
