Los Angeles Lakers: Three reasons it’s okay to trade Lonzo Ball
By Keith Rivas
If this gets any worse, the Los Angeles Lakers might have to justify trading away their latest second overall pick.
While some might think it’s a nightmare scenario for the Los Angeles Lakers, it really isn’t a bad place to be — and it might actually be a blessing in disguise. While LaVar Ball’s latest comments on Luke Walton might have been stretched by the media, the problem isn’t all with what he said about players not wanting to play for Luke Walton, but rather the fact that he’s still talking.
Handling criticism is part of any job in the public sphere, especially in sports. There are people all of the time that strongly disagree with how a team is run or who they hire or have in top positions — but with LaVar Ball, the concern is that his antics will seep into the locker room.
Despite Lonzo Ball having a much more laid back personality compared to his father, he hasn’t done much to help stop the provocative commentary before it gets to far. When asked about how he feels about Luke Walton being the coach of the Lakers, he didn’t give a straightforward answer.
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Then, you look at the exact opposite being demonstrated by fellow rookie Kyle Kuzma who chose to publicly back Walton amidst the drama. It’s obvious that the Lakers organization knew who they were getting with Lonzo Ball, but it’s also safe to say that they underestimated what they were getting.
They knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that LaVar Ball wasn’t going to change, but they don’t seem to know what to do now that Ball has continued his criticism in the public arena. It’s gotten to the point where the Lakers had to disallow media access to the family section of Staples Center to try and let the elder Ball cool off before finding a camera and a hot mic.
Los Angeles could try to pull some strings and announce that Ball is also on the trade block before the deadline along with Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, and most recently Larry Nance Jr. It would give LaVar Ball a moment to try to work things out with the organization and also allow Lonzo Ball to show us if he’s ready to step up to his father if his dream come true is on the line.
That being said, here’s my three reasons that justify actually executing a trade involving Lonzo Ball.