Getty Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers dribbles in front of John Wall of the Washington Wizards.
The Los Angeles Lakers‘ extremely public hunt for a secondary star has found its way to Wizards star Bradley Beal. Beal had a standout season in 2018-19 and just missed out on being named to the All-NBA third team. Despite his strong showing, the Wizards need to clear out cap space as they currently sit above the NBA’s salary cap and have no way to add players aside from minimum contracts and cap exceptions. Beal’s value as an elite player that is cheaper compared to the max contract free agent options make him an appealing trade target for a number of teams as well.
Especially if the Lakers are unable to land one of the premier free agents, keep an eye on Beal as the Lakers would be in a prime position to make a run at the star guard. While previously Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma‘s names were tossed around as possible options, Lonzo Ball‘s name is one that has recently been thrown into the mix.
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Lakers Trade Rumors: Wizards Prefer Lonzo Ball In Bradley Beal Deal [Report]
According to NBC Sports Washington’s Ben Standig, Washington would prefer Ball over any of the Lakers’ other young assets.
NBC Sports Washington – “If there’s a deal with the Lakers, most sources would want Ball involved regardless of any parent distractions from his attention-seeking father, Lavar. ‘People just don’t grasp how good he is,’ a source said.
Los Angeles owns the fourth pick in the 2019 Draft. One source views Ingram, Kuzma and four for Beal as fair value assuming Ingram, the No. 2 overall pick in 2016, is cleared medically following a blood clot scare that ended his season prematurely.”
While Ingram and Kuzma are certainly still an appealing option and one that Washington will undoubtedly consider, it seems they have eyes for Lonzo Ball – not that their current salary cap situation allows them much leverage.
How Would Lonzo Ball Fit Alongside John Wall?
While Beal looks to be an ideal fit in Los Angeles, the more puzzling question is why the Wizards are so interested in Ball. The Wizards already have a point guard locked up for the next five years on an ABSURD supermax contract in John Wall. Wall’s contract makes him borderline untradeable and unless the Wizards felt a burning desire to flip Ball, they would most likely be envisioning a backcourt pairing of Wall and Ball longterm.
This is an extremely interesting pairing as both players are at their best with the basketball in their hands pushing the pace up the court. While Wall is a bit more aggressive of a scorer, both hunt for assists and neither is very consistent from beyond the arc. While from an athletic standpoint the backcourt would be nearly unparalleled at the NBA level, it looks to be an extremely clunky fit on paper.
As such, it would make more sense for the Wizards to target versatile wing players like Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma who would, in theory, be a much stronger fit alongside someone like Wall. Unless the Wizards know something we don’t and have a trade partner for Wall’s albatross contract – indicating they plan to blow the entire team up – moving for Ball makes little to no sense.
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