Lonzo Ball to the Lakers is going to happen now

Lonzo Ball to the Los Angeles Lakers is happening. We may still be a month away from the NBA draft, but Tuesday’s lottery slotted Los Angeles into the second overall pick. At this point, penciling in Ball as their selection makes almost too much sense.

The team must already have immense pressure to take him, both internally and on the outside. His upside is tremendous on a Lakers team that hasn’t found a true superstar yet, and he’s a hometown kid. Ball has risen into the national spotlight over the past six months and now he could get picked by the Lakers just months after leading UCLA on a Sweet Sixteen run.

The Lakers can, and should, consider other options at the No. 2 pick. There’s a case for Josh Jackson and maybe even Jayson Tatum or Jonathan Isaac. However, Ball just seems to make too much sense — especially after saying he would rather be drafted by them than go No. 1 overall.

Don’t worry about Ball’s fit. In fact, putting the 6’5 transcendent passer next to the team’s 2015 first-round pick, D’Angelo Russell, might be the most beneficial thing for both players.

Russell is also 6’5 and still only 21. He can play off the ball, and with someone like Ball sharing (or completely taking over) point guard duties, you’d expect Russell’s efficiency to rise. That has been the biggest knock on Russell so far in his career, with a True Shooting Percentage under 51 percent his rookie year and only 52 percent as a sophomore. Have Ball setting him up, and Russell will be in a much better position to show his scoring prowess.

Brandon Ingram, their 2016 first-rounder, played 93 percent of his minutes at forward, so that’s not a problem. Jordan Clarkson, who is signed through the 2019-20 season, becomes expendable, but there’s no reason to send him anywhere yet. The three point guard prospects can all work together easily, and perhaps the Lakers could even keep them as a three-man guard rotation if they all fit together perfectly.

There are valid concerns about Ball’s ability to create shots due to his funky jumper mechanics, but his passing ability cannot be denied. There’s no one on the Lakers who can run an offense like Ball can. He should make everyone on the team better.

Obviously, the biggest reason why Lonzo Ball is a nationally known name at this point is his dad, Lavar. In part to promote his grassroots Big Baller Brand apparel company, Lavar Ball has grabbed headlines constantly over the past five months or so. He said Lonzo was better than Stephen Curry, thinks he would have cooked Michael Jordan one-on-one, and guaranteed a UCLA championship — and that’s before he started selling Lonzo Ball’s first signature shoes for $500.

The Lakers deserve the Balls. For years, their championships and shameless Kobe Bryant “stans” have connected Los Angeles with hot take attitudes. Who other than the Ball family to carry on that legacy?

That’s not a reason for the Lakers to draft him, but Ball has consistently been the consensus No. 2 pick throughout various NBA big boards and mock drafts. There’s star potential in the young player who took the college world by storm this season, and that’s what this current group of Lakers is still missing.

Lonzo Ball will be a Laker. We’re a month away from the draft, and that statement still doesn’t feel like a bold prediction at all. It just makes too much sense.