Lonzo Ball might not want to plan on playing his home games at Staples Center just yet.
While mamy have assumed the Los Angeles Lakers will select the electric UCLA point guard with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the team reportedly is doing its due diligence before making its selection.
Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported Thursday, citing league sources, that the Lakers have not yet committed to taking Ball, and that Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox also is in play.
The Lakers need a playmaker after the reported trade of 2015 No. 2 overall pick D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets, and either point guard will fill that need.
Ball has transcendent court vision and a knack for making everyone around him better. But he was thoroughly outplayed by Fox both times UCLA and Kentucky played each other, most notably in the Wildcats’ Sweet 16 victory when Fox torched Ball for a game-high 39 points.
It still would be a shock not to see Ball in the Purple and Gold, but anything’s possible on draft night.
Thumbnail photo via Mark Zerof/USA TODAY Sports Images
