Not even Lonzo Ball can afford to be too comfortable with his place on the Los Angeles Lakers roster.
The Lakers have told potential NBA trade partners that none of the players on their roster, including the aforementioned star point guard, are “untouchable”, the Los Angeles Times’ Tania Ganguli reported recently, citing multiple sources.
The Lakers aren’t actively shopping any of their players, but they are willing to consider — and perhaps accept — any trade offer that “blows them away,” according to Ganguli.
Including Ball in the report is surprising given his status as a Los Angeles native, a high-profile figure off the court and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka have created cap space necessary to pursue impact free agents this summer, with LeBron James and Paul George reportedly their main targets. The Lakers also could chase 2019 free agents, which are expected to include Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson and Kemba Walker, among others.
Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Julius Randle form the core of the Lakers’ ongoing youth movement, but the team appears willing to jettison any and all of them for the greater good, even if it disrupts the master plan of LaVar Ball, Lonzo’s father.
