Los Angeles Lakers: Three reasons it’s okay to trade Lonzo Ball
By Keith Rivas
He’s not worth missing out on established stars
Personally, I wasn’t sure how much of an impact signing someone like Paul George would have on the Lakers, but now it’s clear that it could be a tremendous game changer. Even if the Lakers don’t trade Lonzo Ball this season, if he’s the one piece to the team that’s causing chemistry issues because of what his dad says off the court, how long are they going to let that really go on?
It got bad enough where media had to be given restrictions after the game to avoid the comments from LaVar Ball and this is only within Lonzo’s rookie season without any other established stars around him. Do you really think that guys like LeBron James or Paul George are going to willingly put up with that, even in a place like Los Angeles, or that they’ll be looking anywhere else if they want to leave their current teams?
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You’ve got to be a bit mad to think that George or James would allow LaVar to run his mouth at the same rate moving forward. It’s one thing to come out in criticism of the coach or the front office or even the minutes that Lonzo plays — but LaVar has a canon that won’t stop shooting, no matter who his target is.
That being said, the open commentary would likely also come against players like James and George, and then the front office has a real issue on their hands. A trade involving Ball isn’t something they can really afford to put off if they don’t want to strike out again over the summer time.
It’s unclear yet just how Ball will handle the spotlight in Los Angeles, but also remember that he’s spent the last three seasons in three completely different modes of basketball. High school, college, and the NBA all have their pros and cons but the one with the most consequences is one that none of the Balls are used to.
The noise isn’t a one and done like Ball’s one season with the UCLA Bruins. This will be something that follows Lonzo — and the other brothers — for the rest of their basketball lives unless an ultimatum is established, honored, and possibly even acted upon sooner than later.