NBA Draft 2017: 5 best fits for Lonzo Ball
By Chris Stone
1. Los Angeles Lakers
Finally, at the top, we have the most likely destination for Ball on draft night. The Los Angeles Lakers hold the No. 2 pick and the franchise has long been assumed to be the landing spot for the UCLA product.
It’s hard to ignore the off court factors at play here. Ball went to high school in Chino Hills about 40 miles away from the Staples Center. He has also already expressed his desire to play for his hometown franchise despite some public reports that they may be looking in another direction.
On the court, Ball should also be a solid fit. Head coach Luke Walton came to the team from the Golden State Warriors, so implementing many of the ideas that can maximize Ball we discussed earlier should be no problem for the Lakers.
The understandable question here is how well Ball would fit with current point guard D’Angelo Russell already in the fold, but the pairing would probably excel. Ball and Russell could play in a sort of two point guard system that would allow Ball to dominate off the ball like he would with the Philadelphia 76ers while attacking more moving defenses. The other end of the floor might get a bit dicey, but given the size of both players, the Lakers could simply switch everything to shore up their defensive concerns.