When he was selected as the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by his hometown Los Angeles Lakers (well, he’s from Chino, but it’s pretty close), UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball was expected to be the league’s next big thing: an oversized lead guard (he’s 6-foot-6) who could use his strength and length to throttle the opposition defensively, with an exquisite passing game.
Following a bumpy start to his pro career with LA, Ball was moved to the New Orleans Pelicans, as part of the Lakers’ blockbuster deal for 10-time All-Star big man Anthony Davis.
More news: Cavaliers Urged to Cut Ties With $197 Million Star in Blockbuster Trade
Los Angeles instantly went on to a win a title with its new core of LeBron James and Davis, and did appear in another Western Conference Finals in 2023, before general manager Rob Pelinka ditched Davis for the younger, better Luka Doncic in a league-redefining blockbuster deal ahead of the Feb. 2025 deadline.
But we digress.
Ball leveled up in New Orleans, becoming a reliable 3-and-D starter on a developing young Western Conference squad.
During his final, COVID-19-abbreviated season with the 31-41 Pelicans in 2020-21, Ball averaged 14.6 points on .414/.378/.781 shooting splits, 5.7 dimes, 4.8 boards, 1.5 swipes and 0.6 blocks across 55 of 72 contests (all starts).
More news: Former Top 2 Pick Already Turning Heads at Cavaliers Camp
He agreed to a four-season, $85 million deal to join the revamped Chicago Bulls as part of a sign-and-trade that summer. During the first half of that ultimately cursed 2021-22 season, Ball and fellow ex-Lakers new Chicago addition Alex Caruso helped electrify the Bulls’ perimeter defense. All-Star wings Zach LaVine and another new signing, DeMar DeRozan, handled the brunt of the scoring burden, along with sharpshooting, defensively-challenged center Nikola Vucevic. Chicago shockingly snagged the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed midway through the season.
Then, the injury bug hit. Ball tore the meniscus in his left knee and underwent a season-ending surgery, while Caruso struggled with his own health woes. Chicago fell to the No. 6 seed in the conference and was quickly obliterated by the Milwaukee Bucks in a first-round series. Ball finished that season having played just 35 bouts, averaging 13.0 points on .423/.423/.750 shooting splits, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.9 blocks per. The Bulls have yet to return to the playoffs since that inaugural Ball year.
Ball missed the next two full seasons and underwent two further knee surgeries. At one point, it was unclear if he would ever return to an NBA court. Thankfully, he eventually did, for the last year of his deal. in 2024-25. Although he only was healthy for another 35 games (he had a wrist injury), he flashed plenty of that still-potent passing and defense, and agree to a two-year, $20 million contract extension with Chicago in-season.
Chicago eventually flipped Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer in a straight-up player swap for lottery bust wing Isaac Okoro.
As part of a fresh survey of league general managers, NBA.com’s John Schuhmann asked for the most underrated offseason transaction, and the Ball acquisition earned 7 percent of GM votes to land in a tie as the No. 4-most underappreciated move.
Although he’s never going to be an All-Star or even the above-average starter he had been in his prime, Ball can still provide useful minutes as a versatile backup behind Cleveland’s All-Star starting backcourt of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, as the Cavaliers look to build upon a 64-18 season that ended in a disappointing, injury-plagued second-round playoff exit this past spring.
More news: Cavaliers Announce Major Lonzo Ball Injury Decision
For all the latest NBA news and rumors, head over to Newsweek Sports.
Read the full article here
