2017 NBA Mock Draft 3.0
player. 20. . PG. UCLA. Lonzo Ball. 2
Ball has shot up NBA draft boards this season, emerging as one of the most efficient playmakers we’ve seen in recent years. His high I.Q. style of play has opened up the UCLA offense in impressive fashion, as he has played the role of catalyst for one of the NCAA’s more pass-happy, high octane offensive units.
What Ball lacks in all-around skill set, he makes up for with an incredible knack for creating plays elsewhere on the floor. He’s the most potent transition facilitator in college basketball, and backs that up with the type of court vision and passing touch that could allow him to up the overall efficiency of an NBA squad from day one — which would be incredibly rare for a freshman point guard.
The Lakers would obviously be selecting based on talent, not fit, in this scenario, as Ball is widely viewed by most scouts as the only viable competition to Fultz in this year’s class. And, while I’m hesitant to put him in that echelon with such a talented crop of prospects around him, his skill set does mesh uniquely well with Luke Walton’s offensive style.
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Ball’s best offensive production comes when pushing the break in transition, and Los Angeles has all the requisite pieces needed to allow him to do so. As Brandon Ingram improves his shot and D’Angelo Russell increases his feel for the game, rolling out small ball lineups with Ball at the helm is something Walton could be easily capable of doing. Imagine tossing Ball-Russell-Young-Ingram-Randle onto the floor and letting them loose in transition. It’s gives Walton his own B-rate version of the death lineup he helped coach in Golden State, while also making this L.A. team — at the very least — fun to watch.
Also, LaVar Ball said his son is a Laker. Who wants to mess that up?