Lakers rumors: Predicting the first four years under Lonzo Ball

Sophomore Season

Stat Line Average: 12 points, three rebounds, eight assists

With playoff experience under his belt, an early exit will leave a bitter taste in his mouth. This will give the front office only more reasons to trust him moving forward as their leader.

As a sophomore, Ball will score less, but be more efficient on offense. One of the most talked about upsides to the young star is his ability to make his teammates better.

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Coming out of the gates as a rookie, that won’t be an easy feat. It’s something much more feasible after getting your feet wet in the NBA. To add to that, both he and Brandon Ingram will be able to grow in chemistry and take the team where it needs to be.

A crucial factor to determining Ball’s role in his sophomore season is the fact that they might be loaded with free agents. Guys like Paul George, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook are all possibilities and are far from nobodies.

The hope here, even if none were to end up in Los Angeles, is that talk of guys like that joining him would push him even further.

As a sophomore, Ball will lead the Lakers to the playoffs again, but with the same early, disappointing results. A 49-33 record will be what the young core will have to show for it along with an sixth place seeding.

This time losing in a Game 7 that teaches the young core the harsh reality of coming close versus being enough in the NBA. While this stings and isn’t what Lakers fans will want, it’ll only drive the hunger further at a time where they’ll have access to an incredible amount of raw talent and star power.