Lonzo Ball struggled once again Wednesday night.
The Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard hasn’t lived up to the hype through the first 15 games of his NBA career, and Nick Wright believes it’s time for the Lakers to make a move.
The co-host of FOX Sports 1’s “First Things First” explained Thursday that after Ball’s abysmal performance against Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers, LA should demote the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft to the NBA Gatorade League.
The G-League, formerly known as the Developmental League, is where young players who have yet to prove they belong in the league cut their teeth, and Wright believes it will help Ball regain his confidence.
“So what I would do with Lonzo is, I would consider putting him in the G-League,” Wright said. “If you’re not going to play him, in 20 minutes, and he’s not going to have any confidence, I would say, because we know Lonzo can hit some free throws, he hit about 70 percent in college. We know he can finish around the rim, he had an above 70 percent field goal percentage in the paint in college. We know he’s not the worst 3-point shooter in the world, he was an above average, not great but above average 3-point shooter in college.
“Let him get his confidence back by playing against guys like he played against in college. Because last night, going up against another rookie, granted a guy a year older in Ben Simmons, he did not look like he belonged in the same league as that guy.”
Ball is averaging nine points, 6.9 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game so far this season, but has looked outmatched in multiple games and has been benched in the fourth quarter by head coach Luke Walton.
The Lakers certainly won’t send Ball to the G-League after 15 games, but if the UCLA product doesn’t begin to show signs of improvement then it’s an option they might have to consider.
