The 2017 NBA Draft is just one month away and the biggest question floating around the NBA Draft rumor mill is will the LA Lakers draft Lonzo Ball or not? On the heels of a successful NBA Draft lottery, which saw the LA Lakers grab the No. 2 pick overall in next month’s draft, the rumor mill has been hot and heavy indicating that Los Angeles will draft UCLA star point guard Lonzo Ball.
Drafting Ball does seem to make sense for the team, but the problem may not be if Ball will be able to perform up to expectations, but will they be able to tolerate Ball’s biggest supporter – his father.
While everyone who has kids certainly wants the best for their children, and rightly so, Lavar Ball can sometimes take things to the extreme. It’s become a well known fact that Lavar Ball is very outspoken and thinks very highly of his child’s potential, and Lavar Ball can sometimes come across as quite forward in many of his interviews.
So the big question is after all of the hype for the UCLA star, could the LA Lakers actually pass on Lonzo Ball?
According to SI, the Lakers would be better off selecting Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox, and not just to avoid all of the media attention Lavar Ball may or may not bring to the table.
“The Lakers should take De’Aaron Fox. He is worlds better on defense. His jumper remains a work in progress, but his speed will allow him to drive defenses crazy in the meantime. He plays incredibly hard, and with his athleticism, it feels like he’s only scratching the surface of what he’ll be in five years.”
One thing seems to be apparent, if the Lakers do intend to draft Lonzo Ball with the second pick overall on June 22, it will be because they were satisfied with the research they are about to embark upon.
According to a CBS Sports report, the LA Lakers will ‘absolutely’ talk to UCLA head coach Steve Alford about LaVar Ball’s involvement with his son when it comes to on and off the floor situations.
Ahead of next month’s draft, Luke Walton was asked about the Ball family, and what kind of research the Lakers will do into LaVar’s involvement with the UCLA program while he was recently on the Dan Patrick Show. We’ve heard about how LaVar disrupted his son’s high school team, and it’s quite relevant to see whether or not LaVar tried the same tricks with UCLA.
Luke Walton says @Lakers will contact Steve Alford to ask questions about LaVar Ball https://t.co/fl18vLPgVx pic.twitter.com/1QseU8StTX
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) May 19, 2017
Walton was asked if he would be questioning UCLA head coach Steve Alford on how things were with Ball on and off campus, and certainly with the situation with Lavar Ball.
“I wouldn’t personally, but yes, somebody in our organization will, absolutely.”
Walton also added that he isn’t concerned about LaVar Ball right now and will think about it more as the draft gets closer.
“Not yet. When we get closer to the draft, we’ll get a packet of information on every player that we’re really interested in, and then we’ll sit down and discuss it all. But right now I’m not concerned at all; I’m mostly concerned with what player can help us win more than 26 games the most.”
With a month to go before the NBA Draft takes place from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Thursday, June 22, could it be possible that the Lakers pass on Lonzo Ball just because of his father? While anything is possible, if Lonzo Ball is impressive during workouts and has what the Lakers believe is the raw ability to help the team, they will draft him either way.
The bottom line is wins and losses, and if Lonzo Ball, a native of California and UCLA standout, can help his home town team get back to their winning ways, you can bet he will be wearing the white, purple and gold in 2017.
[Featured Image by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]