2017 NBA Draft: Lonzo Ball to work out for the Lakers on June 7
UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball will work out with the Los Angeles Lakers on June 7, per several reports. The Lakers are widely expected to draft Ball with the No. 2 overall pick at the 2017 NBA Draft.
Ball has refused to work out for the Boston Celtics, the team which owns the No. 1 overall pick. However, Ball is considering working out for the Philadelphia 76ers, per ESPN. There has been some chatter about the Sixers and Celtics exchanging their Top-3 picks to facilitate a trade for Dario Saric or Jahlil Okafor. As of this writing, the Celtics are expected to draft Markelle Fultz with the No. 1 overall pick. In such a scenario, the Sixers would be able to draft either Kansas forward Josh Jackson or Kentucky point guard De'Aaron Fox.
Meanwhile, the Lakers could package second-year point guard in a potential Paul George trade this offseason. Soon after the Lakers landed the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, Russell, per several league sources, became expendable since Los Angeles would reportedly prefer giving Ball the reins of the offense. Though many expect Lakers coach Luke Walton to experiment with a backcourt duo of Ball and Russell, there's growing speculation that president Magic Johnson would be willing to move Russell for a player of George's stature.
Lonzo Ball to LA: Would the Lakers execute a D'Angelo Russell trade?
NBA insider Sam Smith recently reported that Johnson "isn't that patient" and wants to land a big fish ahead of the 2017-18 season. "The talk among general managers is you can pretty easily get D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle. Then simple. The Lakers also would love to dump one of those big contracts (Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov) that resulted in a management change. You give the Pacers Luol Deng to match salary with George and then throw in two former lottery picks, one from the Big 10 and the other from nearby Kentucky, and the Pacers can sell that as a rebuild," Smith wrote in his mailbag on NBA.com.
Lonzo Ball averaged 14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists in his one-and-done season at UCLA. In comparison, Markelle Fultz averaged 23.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game for a Washington Huskies team that finished with a 9-22 record and 2-16 in Pac-12 competition.
