If all goes well on Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers will be able to go to Las Vegas for the NBA Summer League this weekend with Lonzo Ball having signed his rookie contract making him eligible to play.
According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, Ball is expected to sign his four-year deal with the Lakers on Monday:
No. 2 overall pick Lonzo Ball will sign his four-year rookie contract with the Los Angeles Lakers today, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2017
The Lakers are expected to have one of the best squads in Las Vegas with games set to be played from July 7-17. Los Angeles is guaranteed to play at least five games during their Summer League stint at the Thomas & Mack Center as arguably the biggest draw for basketball fans with Ball leading the way.
Along with the former UCLA star, the Lakers will have their three other rookies Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, and Thomas Bryant playing alongside him. Brandon Ingram, David Nwaba, and Ivica Zubac will also be on the Summer League team as well as Vander Blue who is the reigning D-League MVP.
The Lakers will get their Summer League games underway on Friday. Ball will make his debut for the Lakers going up against the division rival Los Angeles Clippers at the Thomas & Mack Center at 5:30 p.m. PT followed by matchups against the Boston Celtics on Saturday and Sacramento Kings on Monday.
Fans of the storied franchise will get their first look at the Ingram-Ball dynamic duo with the Lakers widely believed to be the favorites to win the Summer League tournament. It’ll be interesting to see if there is instant chemistry between the two young players or if it will take some time for them to figure out how to play with one another in purple and gold.