LA Sports Hub
Fansided

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

By Jason Reed

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)
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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

3. Lonzo Ball is the perfect scapegoat player

I absolutely hate this reason and I feel like Skip Bayless just for writing about it. However, as absurd as it sounds and as absurd as it really is, it really does make sense.

Now, we are not saying that LeBron James chose to go to the Lakers and will fight for Ball to stay on the team simply so people can blame him if anything bad happens. Not at all, LeBron is not going to be petty like that.

More from LA Sports Hub

And while James may not be doing it deliberately, the fact of the matter is that Ball is the perfect scapegoat for if anything goes wrong. If there is any friction between James and the young core it can be blamed on Lonzo’s father. If the partnership between LeBron and Lonzo does not work out, people are obviously going to blame the latter.

The Lakers’ fan base already is not too keen on Lonzo Ball. While there definitely are exceptions, I have seen many Laker fans claiming that Ball should be the first traded and that Rajon Rondo should be the starter. Again, not all, but a lot.

I come across Lakers fans all the time in my line of work and I have seen so many different opinions. One fan told me Lonzo is already a bust because he couldn’t score 15 points a game in his rookie season.

Not only did Ball score more points per game his rookie year than Brandon Ingram (someone Lakers fans love), he also averaged 6.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game. If Lonzo would have grabbed one more board he would have joined LeBron James and Russell Westbrook as the only players to score 10 points with seven rebounds and assists per game.

That does not sound like a bust.

Next: Lakers: Top 30 Greatest Players of All-Time

Yet, for whatever reason, Lonzo Ball has not been able to resonate as a fan favorite on the Los Angeles Lakers. If anything goes haywire, he undoubtedly will be the first that people turn the blame towards.

Home/Los Angeles Lakers