The Los Angeles Lakers have been in the headlines on a daily basis over the last few weeks. Along with Magic Johnson now running the show, Paul George potentially coming to the team in 2018, and the current drama within the Buss family, LaVar Ball, father of UCLA star Lonzo Ball, made an interesting declaration recently.
LaVar made a controversial statement saying his son, who may go No. 1 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft, will only play for the Lakers. Obviously, this makes things interesting for the Lakers as they have a good chance of having a top draft pick this summer with Ball potentially in their crosshairs.
On Tuesday, LaVarr made an appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd and clarified his comments on his desire to have his son play for the Lakers.
"I did not say Lonzo's only going to play for the Lakers… I prefer him to play for the Lakers because all my family is here." — LaVar Ball pic.twitter.com/PwYxv5Au0H
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) March 7, 2017
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Apparently, LaVar’s preference, as it would be for most fathers of athletes of on the verge of making the jump to the professional level, is that his son plays for the hometown Lakers.
Along with staying close to family, Lonzo wearing the purple and gold to start his NBA career would be a great move for many different reasons. The endorsements will be going at UCLA product left and right while potentially fitting in perfectly in Luke Walton’s system as the true point guard the team needs while shifting D’Angelo Russell over to shooting guard.
The question now is when the NBA Draft Lottery results come out on May 16, whether LaVar and his family will be happy with the draft order. The Lakers appear to be well on their way to retaining their top-3 protected pick, but there’s no guarantee they’ll get No. 1 overall or even be as high as No. 2 like in the past two years.
Things are bound to get interesting if Lonzo Ball is the projected No. 1 overall selection with the Lakers either sitting in that spot or coming in at No. 2 or No. 3. Other notable college players considered to be top picks as of right now include Markelle Fultz (Washington), Josh Jackson (Kansas), Jayson Tatum (Duke) and Dennis Smith (NC State).
