Lonzo Ball

[sikma42]

My issues with Lonzo:

1. Can't break down the defense of the bounce. Doesn't have a great handle.
2. Not good in pick and roll.
3. Can't shoot going right.
4. Not a particularly great finisher



He has a great ball iq but other players have had similar or better and not turned out to be stars. I'd argue Rubio had a higher iq at that age.

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[seorang]

But he can be the 3rd guy on a great team as he doesn't need to pound the rock to create for his teammates and should eventually fix the shot mechanics. I don't see him as a franchise guy. Ball on Philly would be great playing 3rd Banana to Simmons and Embiid.

[Johnlac1]

But he can be the 3rd guy on a great team as he doesn't need to pound the rock to create for his teammates and should eventually fix the shot mechanics. I don't see him as a franchise guy. Ball on Philly would be great playing 3rd Banana to Simmons and Embiid.

With a healthy Simmons Philly would need more a Kyrie Irving kind of pg rather than Ball. Someone who can bring the ball up the floor, play defense adequately, and shoot threes. Simmons and Ball on the floor at the same time would be a waste of one or the other's talents. Both strength's are distributing.

[tsmith]

But he can be the 3rd guy on a great team as he doesn't need to pound the rock to create for his teammates and should eventually fix the shot mechanics. I don't see him as a franchise guy. Ball on Philly would be great playing 3rd Banana to Simmons and Embiid.

With a healthy Simmons Philly would need more a Kyrie Irving kind of pg rather than Ball. Someone who can bring the ball up the floor, play defense adequately, and shoot threes. Simmons and Ball on the floor at the same time would be a waste of one or the other's talents. Both strength's are distributing.

This argument is a joke. Having too many distributors will never be detrimental to a team, it is a positive.

[Mulhollanddrive]

What are the odds he drops out of the top 2?

[Norm2953]

The only way Ball drops out of the top 3 is if the Lakers fall out of the top 3. Those rumors of
health issues with his mom might have impacted his play against Kentucky.

[Johnlac1]

But he can be the 3rd guy on a great team as he doesn't need to pound the rock to create for his teammates and should eventually fix the shot mechanics. I don't see him as a franchise guy. Ball on Philly would be great playing 3rd Banana to Simmons and Embiid.

With a healthy Simmons Philly would need more a Kyrie Irving kind of pg rather than Ball. Someone who can bring the ball up the floor, play defense adequately, and shoot threes. Simmons and Ball on the floor at the same time would be a waste of one or the other's talents. Both strength's are distributing.

This argument is a joke. Having too many distributors will never be detrimental to a team, it is a positive.

Yes, and what is the point of having Simmons if you have Ball? How does Ball help the team by being a poor scorer and a great passer if Simmons has the ball most of the time? If Simmons is the pf originating the off., why have Ball out there wasting his talents. Neither player would like the other to dominate the ball. And neither would like coming off the bench.

[tsmith]

With a healthy Simmons Philly would need more a Kyrie Irving kind of pg rather than Ball. Someone who can bring the ball up the floor, play defense adequately, and shoot threes. Simmons and Ball on the floor at the same time would be a waste of one or the other's talents. Both strength's are distributing.

This argument is a joke. Having too many distributors will never be detrimental to a team, it is a positive.

Yes, and what is the point of having Simmons if you have Ball? How does Ball help the team by being a poor scorer and a great passer if Simmons has the ball most of the time? If Simmons is the pf originating the off., why have Ball out there wasting his talents. Neither player would like the other to dominate the ball. And neither would like coming off the bench.

Neither player has to dominate the ball, Lonzo's moves the ball quickly and can shoot the three ball well. Each of them will get there fair share of the ball, just cause some of there skills overlap does not mean they won't be effective together, having two great distributors will not be a negative for any team.

[No-Man]

Simmons would be much better next to Ball than Kyrie, Irving dominates the ball much more than Lonzo even if he doesnt pass it as much.
Look at the usage numbers, not at the assits per game only.

[GimmeDat]

I think Ball is the best PG fit for Philly in this draft (apart from Fultz who is just BPA for anyone lucky enough to be #1). He can hit the 3, he's not going to monopolize the offense with high usage, and he's athletic enough to run the break. That said, he's not a elite finisher or general scorer, and there's definitely a degree of Simmons and Ball cutting each others lunch skill-set wise. You can never have too many good passers, but at some point, you need guys that have the mentality to finish plays first and foremost, not be the unselfish play-maker. At the end of the day, on any given play the ball's going to be in one guys hands or another. and whenever the other doesn't have the ball, their off-ball scoring game is going to be his most important measure, and neither are great scorers at this point.

Long story short, I think they can co-exist very effectively, but they will need to get athletic scoring wings between them, ideally. Yes, a guy like Ball is low usage, but both guys are used to getting the ball given to them early on the break, for instance - Simmons would have to get used to running the floor instead of running the break more. There's definitely a degree of diminished returns.

Overall though, very exciting to imagine what a team with passers like Ball, Simmons, and Saric could do together. With a hopefully healthy Embiid, you've got plenty of scoring firepower as well. They're bringing through nice 3/D guys like Luwawu as well.

[The-Power]

Look at the usage numbers, not at the assits per game only.

Usage also doesn't help us to understand how ball-dominant a player is. Watching tape is the only reliable way to efficiently spot ball-dominant players, assess how that impacts the players around them and whether or not the player could play differently under different circumstances.

This argument is a joke. Having too many distributors will never be detrimental to a team, it is a positive.

It is. But so is having more shot-creating, shooting and defense. So it's not about about what's detrimental to the team as much as it is about what skills have the most impact in a given role on a given team. Not saying Ball and Simmons is a bad fit and it's a plus that both can be great playmakers but it's fair to ask if there aren't other players available who might help more with their strengths.

The 76ers are difficult for me to project as to what they're looking for. Ideally you need a Guard who play defense, shoot, play off the ball effectively and still create off the dribble. However, there isn't a player worth a top 2-3 pick in this draft who checks all those boxes. Ball and Fultz are probably the best combination of fit and potential but both players don't check all four boxes either (unsurprisingly as the profile is pretty rare). Ntilikina would be another one but probably more in the 4-8 range for me (and even lower for many others) and he's also not guaranteed to be effective off the dribble.

[EvanZ]

If Embiid doesn't get healthy Philly is ****, period. With Embiid and Simmons, Monk would be the perfect fit for that team. Maybe Isaac. Ball is redundant with Simmons and not taking advantage of his best skills. The last thing you want to do with Ball is reduce him to a guy who runs off of screens and is just a spot-up shooter. Philly needs way more shooters. Simmons is going to be the de facto point guard for that team.

But like I said if Embiid doesn't come back, it's a moot point. They're ****.

[SlowPaced]

A lot of talk about Ball's future in the league has been centered around Philly and Lakers. Am I the only one who really wants him to go to the Suns? He's a great fit next to Booker. Suns could turn into an amazing high octane offense with Ball at the helm.

Maybe people think Bledsoe is gonna be there long term? I doubt it, personally. He's 7-8 years older than Booker, Chriss and Bender.

[Duke4life831]

A lot of talk about Ball's future in the league has been centered around Philly and Lakers. Am I the only one who really wants him to go to the Suns? He's a great fit next to Booker. Suns could turn into an amazing high octane offense with Ball at the helm.

Maybe people think Bledsoe is gonna be there long term? I doubt it, personally. He's 7-8 years older than Booker, Chriss and Bender.

I have been saying this since the start of the season. LA and Philly are sexier picks but I still think the Suns are his best fit. Phoenix already has a super high paced team, then you add a shooter like Booker, then you also have Warren as well, then the two young guys that have potential as shooters as well with Chriss and Bender. I really would like to see him go to Phoenix.

[The-Power]

A lot of talk about Ball's future in the league has been centered around Philly and Lakers. Am I the only one who really wants him to go to the Suns? He's a great fit next to Booker. Suns could turn into an amazing high octane offense with Ball at the helm.

Maybe people think Bledsoe is gonna be there long term? I doubt it, personally. He's 7-8 years older than Booker, Chriss and Bender.

I have been saying this since the start of the season. LA and Philly are sexier picks but I still think the Suns are his best fit. Phoenix already has a super high paced team, then you add a shooter like Booker, then you also have Warren as well, then the two young guys that have potential as shooters as well with Chriss and Bender. I really would like to see him go to Phoenix.

Phoenix is great because they are still so young and incomplete roster-wise that many prospects are potentially good fits. Unless you're a ball-dominant guard or heavy isolation scorer you'll find a place in Phoenix. Jackson would also be a nice addition if they can add some more shooting to the roster.

[MalonesElbows]

Hope he busts for the sake of not having every half wit father go up and do the same thing Lavar has done.

Not sure why you'd wish bad on the kid because you don't like his dad. Seems a bit extreme don't you think?

Especially when you consider Lonzo's personality. Lonzo is a pretty quiet and humble kid.

I have the mindset that Im really rooting for Lonzo and really hoping Lavar learns to shut up.

I've listened to him. He'll be a diva.

[E-Balla]

A lot of talk about Ball's future in the league has been centered around Philly and Lakers. Am I the only one who really wants him to go to the Suns? He's a great fit next to Booker. Suns could turn into an amazing high octane offense with Ball at the helm.

Maybe people think Bledsoe is gonna be there long term? I doubt it, personally. He's 7-8 years older than Booker, Chriss and Bender.

I have been saying this since the start of the season. LA and Philly are sexier picks but I still think the Suns are his best fit. Phoenix already has a super high paced team, then you add a shooter like Booker, then you also have Warren as well, then the two young guys that have potential as shooters as well with Chriss and Bender. I really would like to see him go to Phoenix.

I still think his best fit is NY and that's not just because I'm a Knicks fan. He'll have the spotlight, Porzingis and Willy, great shooters at the wing (Melo doesn't need any explanation, Lee is 40%, Chasson is lights out), and if we go to the triangle like Jeff is saying he'll have a system where his great timing on cuts will come in handy. Defensively if he doesn't have a quick PG next to him the next best thing will be someone that can guard elite PGs decently (Lee, Holiday) and bigs that can cover for you (KP, Willy, KOQ). Its a match made in heaven. Phoenix to me always seemed like a perfect fit for DSJ or Robert Williams.

[The-Power]

I've listened to him. He'll be a diva.

Care to provide us with the footage or at least elaborate on when you listened to him and what has been said? Because without further information it seems a little odd to even share your point of view here since nobody benefits from it.

[Duke4life831]

I've listened to him. He'll be a diva.

Care to provide us with the footage or at least elaborate on when you listened to him and what has been said? Because without further information it seems a little odd to even share your point of view here since nobody benefits from it.

Ya Id love to see or hear this footage of him sounding like a diva. Ive been following Lonzo for a few years now and have seen ton of interviews and he has never come off as a diva and never heard a single person that has played with him complain about him.

[cellar-door]

But he can be the 3rd guy on a great team as he doesn't need to pound the rock to create for his teammates and should eventually fix the shot mechanics. I don't see him as a franchise guy. Ball on Philly would be great playing 3rd Banana to Simmons and Embiid.

With a healthy Simmons Philly would need more a Kyrie Irving kind of pg rather than Ball. Someone who can bring the ball up the floor, play defense adequately, and shoot threes. Simmons and Ball on the floor at the same time would be a waste of one or the other's talents. Both strength's are distributing.

This argument is a joke. Having too many distributors will never be detrimental to a team, it is a positive.

I come down between the two of you on this.
Having passing at every position is huge. On the other hand, somebody has to create shots and move the defense, preferably you have 2 of your PG/SG/SF capable of that. A PG who can't create off the dribble means you need that off-dribble creation and shot making at the 2 and 3 spots, Is Simmons going to be that guy? Maybe? I think right now he isn't. As well it puts a lot of pressure on Ball being a knockdown 3pt shooter. If he isn't, well then he's a guy with one elite skill who is now using that skill less because it duplicates the best skill of another player and they can't both be the primary initiator of the offense.