Because of his loud mouth, gregarious, offensive and in your face father, Lavar, Lonzo Ball is probably the most recognized name in the 2017 NBA Draft.
As a 6’6″ point guard and a local Los Angeles kid who played for his hometown school in college, the UCLA Bruins, and a player with potentially special play making abilities (many compare him to a Jason Kidd), one can not be surprised that the Los Angeles Lakers are strongly considering him as their guy to help turn their suddenly futile franchise around with the No. 2 pick of the 2017 NBA Draft.
For many, it seemed like a done deal the second the Lakers found out that they had moved up to the No. 2 pick, but for the past few weeks now that certainty has become more of a question as numerous reports have come out that the Lakers are split on whether to take Lonzo at No. 2.
Some of that can be chalked up to normal draft B.S. as paranoid GM’s try to leak random information to reporters in order to better position themselves to get the player or asset they covet the most, but according to Lakers Beat Writer Mark Medina, there might be a little fire with this smoke as the Lakers were reportedly “unimpressed” with Ball’s conditioning during his private pre-draft workout.
#NBADraft prospect Lonzo Ball's 'level of conditioning' did not get rave reviews from the Lakers brasshttps://t.co/eOS1ZwGfMH pic.twitter.com/BEkUdU2qi8
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) June 12, 2017
While conditioning is an issue that can easily be fixed, the fact that Ball apparently didn’t come into the workout with the Lakers in peak physical condition could be a red flag and leads to more uncertainty about whether they will draft him at No. 2.
DeAaron Fox and Josh Jackson have been creeping up draft boards in the past few weeks, we will see if one of them or Lonzo will be donning the purple and gold come this October.
