Getty LeBron James hugging LaMelo Ball.
Since the Los Angeles Lakers signed LeBron James in 2018, they’ve sacrificed the future in a number of moves that were meant to help the team win now, including the trade for Anthony Davis. Prior to LeBron joining the team, they were attempting to build through the draft. One of the players who was supposed to usher in a new era of Lakers basketball was Lonzo Ball.
He’s a solid NBA player but he never developed into the superstar the team was hoping he would and was traded as part of the Davis deal. While Ball is a good player, his young brother LaMelo Ball might be even better. The guard for Charlotte Hornets was named an All-Star in just his second season. He’s got superstar potential written all over him.
However, the Hornets are one of the least successful franchises in NBA history. They’ve never won a championship, conference title or even a division title. Ball is a Southern California native and his family’s business interests are well known. Hornets owner Michael Jordan will do whatever he can to ensure the guard stays in Charlotte for a long time but former NBA player turned analyst Jay Williams believes that Ball is destined to be a Laker.
“When I look at LaMelo Ball, I see nothing but purple and gold,” Williams said on ESPN’s First Take . “It’s written over the way he dresses, the style in which he pulls up to games. It relates to his whole social media image, where he’s from, and his dad had so much to do with how things are orchestrated, even with Lonzo getting there the first time.”
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Would Ball Still Want to Be Laker After They Traded His Brother?
It’s no secret that the Ball family is very close. The patriarch of the family, LaVar Ball, has even stated that he wants all of his sons to play on the same team. The Lakers would’ve been a prime destination considering the family’s roots in Southern California. However, the team may have scorned the family by trading away Lonzo.
LaMelo is his own man and over time it’s become clear that each of the brothers is on their own path. For example, Lonzo left Roc Nation Sports, which represents LaMelo and LiAngelo, for Klutch Sports. What happened to Lonzo in Los Angeles shouldn’t have much of an effect on LaMelo. If he wants to come back home to Los Angeles and play for the team he grew up watching, he’s going to do it.
When Is Ball Eligible to Come to the Lakers?
Barring a trade request from Ball, the Lakers can’t even think about signing him until his contract is up. He’s under contract until 2024 but will be a restricted free agent then. The NBA incentivizes players on rookie contracts to sign their second deals with the team that drafted them. If Ball decided to jump ship after his rookie contract is up, he’d leave a lot of money on the table.
That said, he could make up a lot of that money by being one of the biggest names in one of the biggest markets. The Lakers’ future is murky right now with LeBron getting older and Davis consistently getting injured. Ball is just 20-years-old and could potentially be the future of the franchise. That would at least have to be somewhat appealing to a kid from Southern California.
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