If one were told ahead of the 2017 NBA Draft that soon-to-be Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball might be out of the league less than 10 years later, most wouldn’t take that bet.
Ball, the second pick in the draft, had his detractors, but even the loudest wouldn’t have predicted he wouldn’t have at least a semi-great NBA career.
Nearly a decade later, Ball is a free agent despite teams out there needing some help in the backcourt. The 28-year-old played briefly for the Cleveland Cavaliers before being dealt to the Utah Jazz ahead of last season’s trade deadline. The Jazz waived Ball after the trade.
Former Lakers Guard’s Career Over?
Ball is still in his 20s and a quality two-player guard, but he has been without a team for several months, and the start of a new season is right around the corner. According to Basketball Forever, the signs are starting to point to the inevitable for Ball.
“Is Lonzo Ball’s NBA career coming to an end? The signs are starting to point that way,” the source wrote in an X post. “After returning from multiple major knee surgeries, Ball played just 35 games for Cleveland last season, averaging a career-low 4.6 PPG while shooting just 30.1% from the field and 27.2% from three.”
Ball’s career was derailed after a major knee injury that sidelined him for … wait for it … over 1,000 days. He went from one of the league’s top ascending young point guards to having to prove again that he is a capable starter. Now it appears there is minimal to no interest from teams in the former lottery pick.
“Cleveland then traded him to Utah at the trade deadline, where the Jazz waived him making him a free agent,” Basketball Forever wrote. “And now, months later, Ball remains unsigned with little apparent NBA interest, despite being just 28 years old. After missing the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons and appearing in only 70 games across the following two seasons, durability has become the biggest question surrounding his future.”
Ball’s Career in L.A.
That Ball was supposed to be a superstar with the Lakers is a grave understatement.
He was viewed as the face of the franchise and the player who would lift the Lakers back to contender status (until LeBron James showed up a year later).
After a rough NBA debut — many will remember the then-Clippers guard Patrick Beverley barking at the Lakers crowd as he caged rookie Ball — the 6-foot-7 guard exploded in just his second game, tallying 29 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Ball finished his rookie season with mixed opinions from the public, but there was no denying that the Lakers had a potential future star on their hands.
Ball flashed more potential the following season playing alongside James, with both players recording a triple-double in a November win over Charlotte, becoming the first duo since Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to pull off such a feat.
It remains to be seen what comes next for Ball. Given his age and raw abilities, there is a chance another team gives him an opportunity.
Ex-Lakers Lonzo Ball Gets Bad News as ‘Signs Point’ to NBA Career Being Over