Despite his father indicating otherwise, Lonzo Ball may be willing to gift the Philadelphia 76ers a pre-draft workout.
Whether this is a sign of Lonzo Ball establishing his independence or LaVar beginning to see the flaws in his methodology is still unknown, but the eldest of the Ball brothers could eventually be looking beyond Los Angeles in the weeks leading up to the draft.
A Royal Pain
As reported by ESPN’s Chris Haynes, Ball may consider working out with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The narrative here is pretty clear. Ball’s game has some undeniable flaws, and that could inevitably push the Lakers in a different direction come draft night. If Los Angeles were to pass on him at two, it seems likely that Philadelphia would then view Ball as the best option available.
The report, however, does expand on some of Ball’s potential concerns — namely, his fit with Ben Simmons.
Once again, there’s a narrative at play here. Ball’s a generational passer, upping the effeciency of UCLA’s offense tenfold through uncanny vision and a knack for instigating ball movement. The Sixers have harped on their plans to run Simmons as the de facto point guard, sending the 6-10 Aussie through pick-and-rolls and allowing him the freedom to handle in transition.
There’s a potential conflict of interest there.
The report indicates that a final decision regarding the workout won’t be made until Ball’s agent, Harrison Gaines, has had an extensive conversation with Bryan Colangelo — one that would likely delve into those very same concerns.
With the team building around Joel Embiid in the post and Simmons holding heavy stock in the team’s future as well, it’s understandable for the Ball camp to be concerned over just how prominently he’d be utilized within Brett Brown’s system moving forward.
Where my opinion tends to differ in relation to the masses, though, is with Ball’s fit. He’s built more like a playmaking two-guard in a sense, especially by modern NBA standards. He doesn’t have the explosive quickness or elite ball handling of most top flight point guards, while his overarching presence extends far beyond his on-ball activities.
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While at UCLA, his usage rate was far below that of other top point guards in this year’s class. Rather than running the typical pick-and-roll-heavy regimen that most point guards thrive in, Ball does more work off the ball, making cuts in off the perimeter and using his vision to find opportunities off of secondary passes.
He also spaces the floor nicely as a spot-up shooter, boasting range that could mesh well with Simmons’ downhill attack.
Given the free-flowing nature of Brett Brown’s offense, that addition of another playmaker of Ball’s ilk could help improve the Sixers’ general efficiency — something they struggled with last season. As a team that takes a lot of threes while predicating their system on constant movement, Ball’s ability to both spot-up and create in different capacities could help stabilize the Simmons-led rotation, both with spacing and execution.
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Ball, in all likelihood, will come off the board second in late June. That’s far from a guarantee, though, and a better look at Ball individually could sway the Lakers’ overall opinion on his fit. Should that happen, a workout with Philadelphia could hold far more gravity than expected.