2017 Lakers Draft Pick Discussion

[J_LA]

How bad is Ball defensively? If feels like a few people are exaggerating how bad his defense is the same way they exaggerate how bad D'angelo's defense is. I know Dlo was bad his rookie year and still had the occasional defensive lapses this past season but if you didn't see his improvement throughout the season its because you didn't want too.

I would also like someone to point out how many "defensive" point guards their are in the league today. Two maybe? Three?
Its one thing to pass on Lonzo because you like other prospects more, or other things you don't like about his game. But passing on him because of his defense, or how is defense would be next to Russell's really seems like all the wrong reasons imo.

[ak7]

How bad is Ball defensively? If feels like a few people are exaggerating how bad his defense is the same way they exaggerate how bad D'angelo's defense is. I know Dlo was bad his rookie year and still had the occasional defensive lapses this past season but if you didn't see his improvement throughout the season its because you didn't want too.

I would also like someone to point out how many "defensive" point guards their are in the league today. Two maybe? Three?
Its one thing to pass on Lonzo because you like other prospects more, or other things you don't like about his game. But passing on him because of his defense, or how is defense would be next to Russell's really seems like all the wrong reasons imo.

Both Lillard and McCollum are better defenders than Ball and DLo and they still got wrecked in the playoffs.

[MrWaffles]

I don't care if you agree with me or not, you've made it quite clear to me that you've never played a lick of reputable competitive basketball in your life. Therefore, I rescind my statement.

Ball/Russell will be the GOAT defensive backcourt.

Joke's on you. I played for the Lakers 5 years ago.

Whaaaaaaat

My name is Devin Ebanks.

[ak7]

I don't care if you agree with me or not, you've made it quite clear to me that you've never played a lick of reputable competitive basketball in your life. Therefore, I rescind my statement.

Ball/Russell will be the GOAT defensive backcourt.

Joke's on you. I played for the Lakers 5 years ago.

Whaaaaaaat

Don't feed our biggest troll, lol

[J_LA]

How bad is Ball defensively? If feels like a few people are exaggerating how bad his defense is the same way they exaggerate how bad D'angelo's defense is. I know Dlo was bad his rookie year and still had the occasional defensive lapses this past season but if you didn't see his improvement throughout the season its because you didn't want too.

I would also like someone to point out how many "defensive" point guards their are in the league today. Two maybe? Three?
Its one thing to pass on Lonzo because you like other prospects more, or other things you don't like about his game. But passing on him because of his defense, or how is defense would be next to Russell's really seems like all the wrong reasons imo.

Both Lillard and McCollum are better defenders than Ball and DLo and they still got wrecked in the playoffs.

Remember what Kyrie did to Steph in the finals
Or what every Pg did to Westbrook throughout his Mvp campaign

[ak7]

Joke's on you. I played for the Lakers 5 years ago.

Whaaaaaaat

My name is Devin Ebanks.

I feel like posing as an NBA player on an NBA board is grounds for a ban

[iamworthy]

y'all crazy

[madmaxmedia]

ball ain't a given

People assuming the Lakers take Ball reminds me of everyone assuming the Lakers would draft Okafor.

I don't think the anticipation was nearly as high for Okafor as it is now for Ball, although I may be thinking of closer to the actual draft. By draft day I think most people were actually expecting the DLO pick as he was seen as the higher upside guy. One thing that is definitely different this time around is the whole hometown LA/BBB thing. Not that it influences the Laker FO, but it's had a significant affect on the discussion around Ball.

Everyone will lose their **** when Nate Silver does his analytical thing, I wonder where Ball will rank. By draft day the sentiment could be different, we are still so early in the process right now.

[MrWaffles]

Whaaaaaaat

My name is Devin Ebanks.

I feel like posing as an NBA player on an NBA board is grounds for a ban

Off topic, how old are you? Maybe I'm being too young for you.

[madmaxmedia]

Lonzo on the lakers makes too much sense. One thing a lot of people are not thinking about is our chances at the other Ball brothers in the future. Lavar has already said he sees them all playing on the same NBA team one day.

LOL. Well it won't take nearly as much luck to get the other 2, as I highly doubt they will be Top-5 picks. The youngest one has more potential than the middle one, but I think he lacks the innate basketball and floor sense that Lonzo is praised for.

[RamonSessions7]

My name is Devin Ebanks.

I feel like posing as an NBA player on an NBA board is grounds for a ban

Off topic, how old are you? Maybe I'm being too young for you.

Off topic, but I don't know if young is the right adjective

[madmaxmedia]

Oh grow up. You're going to play the morality card? Do you know the extent of how colleges exploit players?

That a father tries to wrest control from this toxic and rigid system could be seen as courageous from a certain point of view.

I am in full agreement with this. I mean there is obviously hugely divided opinion on Lavar, but hypocritical he is not. The NCAA on the other hand...

[Goudelock]

What do you guys think of Lauri Markkanen? He seems to be the "next Dirk" of this draft class, and I've heard people say that he's a dark horse candidate for the #2 pick.

[TheSheriff]

Lavar Ball folks

https://streamable.com/zux48

He planned on Lonzo going to the Lakers? When? February of 1997?

[TyCobb]

Man give me a break about the damn pace, the team played at the fastest pace this year since D'Antoni and both the offense and defense still stunk. The problem really isn't that the pace is too slow - the transition defense stinks, half court defense kind of stinks, half court offense definitely stinks and the young guys can't stop turning it over. None of that is going to be solved by jacking up the pace even further.

It would be foolish to ignore pace when discussing Ball as that is a major selling point to his game. It would be like discussing Lebron James without mention of his physicality. It is one thing to play at a fast pace, but its another to do it at a highly efficient level while maintaining a low turnover rate. Take the playmaking out of the people youre trying to force to be playmakers (Randle, Clarkson, Russell) and the numbers improve on both ends.

[TyCobb]

Ebanks was known for his drinking--I can definitely see the resemblance in Mr Waffles posts.

[trevm37]

I watched every single UCLA game this season, and I value Fultz, Fox, Smith, Jackson, and Taytum ahead of Ball. Ball is a longer project than Ingram, Russell, and Randle.

I'll take your word for it... what did you see?

Here’s what I saw witnessed:
- A guy come in and completely turn a program around by instilling confidence in his teammates and raising their BBIQ.
- A guy that orchestrated the #1 offensive in college basketball and literally had every teammate with an eFG% 54.0 and above.
- Improved his team’s pace of play 16.4 seconds per possession to 14.5.
- A smart decision maker who only needed 18.1 USAGE % to lead the NCAA in assists.
- A smart shot taker who made 73.2% of his 2 point attempts.
- Lone freshman on 1st All American team, College FR of the Year.

I did enjoy reading your profile on Ball, and do admit, he is very fast and has vision(similar vision to Russell had in college, Ball just has the speed to help showcase his passing in the NBA). Having Ball's combination of speed, vision and passing ability will open lanes and truly transform our transition offense (something Walton would love).

Shooting Mechanics - In order for him to have a chance at efficiently shooting the 3 in the NBA, this needs to change. He showed his ability to shoot wide open threes consistently, but will not have the luxury in being in these situations.

Mid-range game - He has absolutely no mid-range game, please look at his shot chart (I think he was 2/11 for the season?), that's extremely alarming.

PnR - UCLA's PnR success was largely due to T.J. Leaf's ability to stretch the floor or drive to the basket. The combination of an extremely high passing %, no mid-range game, and his lack of contact when driving to the basket, will make any PnR he orchestrates extremely predictable.

Defense- he has the body and intangibles to become a decent defender (in time), but showed very little signs of successful 1 on 1 defense. Ucla consistently switched to a zone defense to mask Alford and Ball's defensive woes.

Lack of contact- For a player that drives to the hoop so often, he seems to always avoid contact. His ability to get off a shot while doing so is very impressive, but it will be much, much harder driving to the hoop


Overall, as you said, he was great at hiding his weaknesses and playing his strengths in the NCAA, but this will be much harder to do in the NBA. Ball will be a good NBA player, and has shown to have the work ethic most players lack, but he has a very long road ahead of him to become a good player. I will definitely admit if i'm wrong (and if hes drafted by the Lakers I will pray every day that I am wrong), but I do not see Ball making a big difference from day 1 or even season 1. To me he improves an area we actually already do efficiently, and does not fill any of the many holes we have. I also do not see him successfully running with the current roster we have, by drafting him, the FO is starting from scratch with 'their' guy. Consider Russell a goner.

[iQon]

One thing a lot of people are not thinking about is our chances at the other Ball brothers in the future. Lavar has already said he sees them all playing on the same NBA team one day.

For starters, we're not obligated to draft them. That package deal, draft my boys or we're going somewhere else-crap works at the HS and collegiate level. It won't fly, here.

The next Ball brother in line isn't even rated high right now. And in the event he improves his draft stock at UCLA... well, we don't have a 1st rounder next year, anyway.

[MrWaffles]

Ebanks was known for his drinking--I can definitely see the resemblance in Mr Waffles posts.

Can I be mod now?

[TyCobb]

Ebanks was known for his drinking--I can definitely see the resemblance in Mr Waffles posts.

Can I be mod now?

When they expand to college forums, I'll put your name in the hat for the Mountaineers Mod.