Los Angeles Lakers: Why Lonzo Ball is a great fit alongside LeBron James

By Jason Reed | Jul 6, 2018

CLEVELAND, OH - DECEMBER 14: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Lonzo Ball #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers embrace during the first half at Quicken Loans Arena on December 14, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

1. Lonzo Ball provides LeBron James a chance to play off-ball

LeBron James has been known as the heart and soul of the offense his entire career. Despite being a forward, and even playing with Kyrie Irving for three years, James often lets the offense run through him and takes up the role of being a point-forward.

However, while he has been great at doing that his entire career, James is entering a new chapter in his career as he ages. James is still one of the best all-around players in the league, however, his role as a primary ball distributor may be coming to a close.

Back in May, Chris Broussard of Fox Sports reported that someone close to James wants to play more off-ball later in his career (h/t Slam). Add in LaVar Ball saying that Lonzo will not play off-ball and this may actually be a reality.

LeBron will undoubtedly still control the offense during crunch time and for a good chunk of possesses. However, Lonzo Ball opens an avenue of trust for LeBron to take an off-ball role and even work on his post game.

Ball is many different things, a good defender, good rebounder, streaky shooter. One thing he is not is a ball hog. Despite the offense running through him, Ball constantly is looking for the next open pass, the next open lane and has created this up pace tempo in LA that led to a significant turnaround last year.

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