The Los Angeles Lakers have one of the youngest teams in the NBA this season after drafting four new rookies to add to their already young core.
One of the players they drafted is point guard Lonzo Ball, who is coming in with very high expectations after being selected with the second overall pick out of UCLA.
While Ball has set a goal of winning the Rookie of the Year for himself, his main goal is team success and in a recent interview with David Gottlieb and Matt Cummings he said he believes the team can make the playoffs this year:
“I think we have a good chance to make the playoffs. That’s the main goal and I think we should come together as one collective unit and try to get that done.”
Ball also commented on the team’s season opener at Staples Center against the Los Angeles Clippers, saying that he is looking forward to that game and the season as a whole:
“Yeah, I think it’s going to be really cool, man. Just looking forward to playing my first game in there, it’s a home game so it should be rocking in there and like I said, I’m just looking forward to it. Looking forward to having a lot of fun this year.”
Making the playoffs may be a tough task for Ball and the Lakers, as many Western Conference teams made big improvements this summer. But for the Lakers success won’t be measured on making the playoffs this season, rather on the development of the team’s young core.
Additionally, the Lakers hold the cap space to sign two max free agents in 2018 so the more success they have this year the more likely they are to convince players like LeBron James, Paul George, Russell Westbrook and DeMarcus Cousins to sign with L.A.
Ball could play a big part in that recruiting process as his pass-first playing style should make players all throughout the league want to come team up with him.