Los Angeles wasn’t thrilled with Ball’s conditioning the first go-round. But a follow-up could be a sign of things to come.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne is one of the world’s foremost authorities on all things NBA basketball. So anything she says is worth its weight in truth, especially when it comes to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Lonzo Ball has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers since he emerged onto the college basketball scene during his freshman season with the UCLA Bruins.
The Los Angeles native wowed in his lone year, averaging 14 points and 7.6 assists with a brilliant display of court vision, ball handling, and three-point shooting. He has been projected as the No. 2 overall pick on virtually all mock drafts behind only Washington’s Markelle Fultz since the end of the college basketball season.
But the Lakers cooled off on Ball after his first workout in early June. The former Bruin’s conditioning was flagged, according to the Orange County Register’s Mark Medina, and Los Angeles worked out Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox shortly after.
The Lakers’ decision to workout Ball a second time and meet with his college coaches, however, bodes well for the 19-year-old’s odds at landing with his hometown team. And if Los Angeles management likes what it sees the second time around, the foregone conclusion of Ball in a Lakers jersey could finally become a reality.