Lonzo Ball Talks Zion Williamson, Lakers' LeBron James, Future LaMelo Matchups

New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball addressed several topics during an appearance on The JJ Redick Podcast on Monday, including his relationship with Pelicans teammate Zion Williamson.

Ball noted that he and Williamson have strong on-court chemistry already despite the fact that Zion has just 19 games of NBA experience to his credit: "Nah, it's really just natural. Z's a different type of talent. I've never really played with a guy like him before. Like I said, he complements my game tremendously, and I'm just happy to be with him."

The Pelicans acquired Ball in the trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers during the offseason. The Pels then selected Williamson with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, thus giving New Orleans one of the best young cores in the NBA.

Ball never quite reached his potential in L.A. after the Lakers took him No. 2 overall, but Ball said playing alongside LeBron James was a positive experience for him:

"Everybody knows that I looked up to LeBron a lot. He helped me a lot when he came over to LA, obviously. That was kind of my guy, growing up. ... It was amazing. Like I said, when I first seen him, I didn't even know what to say, I just was like: 'What's up, man?' I was kind of mad, just because my season ended so early when I got hurt, two years straight. That was kind of a bummer for me. I felt like we had a pretty good team, I was close with a lot of guys on that team, especially Lance [Stephenson] as well. I think we could have did a lot more than what we did, but I got hurt, B.I. [Brandon Ingram] got hurt, Bron got hurt, the whole team pretty much got hurt. It was a tough year."

The Lakers failed to reach the playoffs during the one season that Ball and James played together, but the Lakers currently own the best record in the Western Conference thanks to the combination of LeBron and Davis.

Meanwhile, the Pelicans are 3.5 games out of a playoff spot in the West, and it is unclear if they will have an opportunity to play their way into the postseason should the 2019-20 season resume at some point after getting suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Although the Pelicans may be a year or two away from truly being a factor in the Western Conference, a young core of Ball, Williamson, Ingram, Jaxson Hayes, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and others could make New Orleans a contender for many years to come.

Lonzo Ball Goes Off for 18 Points

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On the topic of the future of the NBA, Ball's younger brother, LaMelo Ball, is set to enter the league as part of the 2020 NBA draft.

LaMelo is widely expected to be one of the first players off the board, and he could even beat out his older brother by being the No. 1 overall pick.

While LaMelo is an offensive dynamo who is oozing with potential, Lonzo believes his familiarity with LaMelo's game would work to his advantage in terms of guarding him at the NBA level: "We'll see. We'll see if my name is matched up to his. I know his game pretty well so it might be a tough night for him."

Currently, Pau and Marc Gasol are the most successful brothers in NBA history, as they both have multiple All-Star nods and at least one championship apiece to their credit.

Lonzo has a long way to go in his development, and it remains to be seen how LaMelo will translate to the next level, but if they both live up to their immense potential, the Balls could one day give the Gasols a run for their money.