By Liam McKeone
Over the course of the last year, Lonzo Ball and his family have been thrust into the lives of every NBA fan. With the help of their boastful father LaVar, Lonzo and his two brothers have been the center of constant discussion.
However, surprisingly little focus has been put on Lonzo’s potential with the Lakers. He was the second overall pick, yet his little brother dropping 90 in a high school game is talked about more often than Lonzo’s skills. Once we move past all the noise, how good can Lonzo really be? While the Summer League doesn’t accurately project the career arc of young players very often, Lonzo played spectacularly and racked up quite a highlight reel.
His biggest strength, by far, is his passing. Lonzo was born to pass, and it’s obvious every time he has the ball. His basketball IQ is through the roof, and he knows where his teammates are going to be before they do. He averaged nearly eight assists in his one season at UCLA, and it only takes a few minutes of watching him to know that will easily translate to the NBA.
He’ll be in a great spot to capitalize on those talents, too. Lakers coach Luke Walton coached the Warriors during their record-breaking season in 2015, and has attempted to install an offense in Los Angeles that revolves around ball motion. Now that D’Angelo Russell is gone, Lonzo is free to be the captain of the offense, and Walton won’t be shy about giving him full responsibility early on. The Lakers are looking to develop the young talent they have this year, so Lonzo should have the green light to do just about anything once the season gets going.
The only significant question mark in Lonzo’s game is his ability to shoot. He has one of the funkiest shot motions in the league, and it takes him a second longer to get the shot off than most other shooters. Guys like that don’t usually last long in the league. But he still managed to hit the three at a 40 percent clip in college, and had a couple of clutch shots along the way. It’ll be a tough adjustment, as Summer League showed, with Lonzo missing nearly all of his outside shots. If Lonzo can bounce back during the regular season and become a respectable three-point shooter, he has no real flaws in his game.
Ultimately, how good Lonzo can be depends on how his shot develops. He’ll be in the league for a long time. His biggest asset is that he makes his teammates better, and his supernatural passing abilities overcome his shooting deficiencies. Guys like Tony Allen and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist have no shot to speak of, but have stuck around with their other skills. Kawhi Leonard came out of college as an extremely poor shooter, and look at him now.
If Lonzo can hit the three, he’ll put himself in position to be one of the top point guards in a league where there are a lot of really good ones. If not, he’ll still be one of the best passers we’ve ever seen and extremely fun to watch. Lonzo has a bright future, and he may just be the one to lead the Lakers out of their current playoff drought.
