Lakers News: Isaiah Thomas Calls Lonzo Ball a 'Special Young Talent'

Rookie point guard Lonzo Ball is expected to return from injury on Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks, calling into question how the team might utilize Ball and Isaiah Thomas and which one of them might start.

Regardless of that outcome, Thomas had nothing but praise for Ball on Wednesday, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com: 

"We are both basketball players and know how to play with different types of guys. [Ball] is a special young talent. He is going to be a special player in this league for years to come. From the outside looking in, watching the Lakers play, he is very good and goes at his own pace, which is a strength to have at a young age.

"He is talented, and I can't wait to get on the floor and compete with him and hopefully win a lot of games."

Thomas, 29, was traded to the Lakers before the Feb. 8 deadline along with the Cleveland Cavaliers' 2018 first-round pick in exchange for Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson. His three-game tenure with the Lakers has been an up-and-down affair.

He shined in his debut, scoring 22 points and adding six assists. But he was ejected from his second game just five minutes into the contest and only scored seven points in his third game, shooting just 3-for-15 from the field.

Ball, meanwhile, hasn't played since Jan. 13 as he recovers from a knee injury.

As Youngmisuk noted, president of basketball operations Magic Johnson has maintained that Ball is the team's starting point guard, meaning Thomas is potentially facing a role off the bench as the team's sixth man. Having the 6'6" Ball back in the starting lineup may also improve the Lakers defense since the team could be able to switch more.

With the 5'9" Thomas in the starting lineup, the Lakers have given up a whopping 129.3 points per game, all losses, far worse than their season average of 110.2, which is 28th in the NBA. Thomas has always been a liability on defense, though the Lakers might be able to mitigate some of that by bringing him off the bench.

It's a major point of emphasis for the team, one way or another.

"We've got to get our mojo back," head coach Luke Walton noted, per Youngmisuk. "We somehow lost it quickly. ... We're just not playing any defense."