Lonzo Ball and the Ball family have been pretty clear since the NBA Draft lottery that just passed that Lonzo was only interested in working out for the Los Angeles Lakers prior to the 2017 NBA Draft. Lonzo is from the state of California and he attended what will be his only college season at UCLA. Lonzo's father Lavar, who has been the voice for his son, seemed to change his stance on pre-draft workouts. Earlier this week on ESPN, they reported that Lonzo Ball was considering working out for the Philadelphia 76ers as well.
Why Philly?
The Philadelphia 76ers have played the NBA Draft very well over the last few seasons.
Ask most 76ers fans, and they'll most likely say they owe it all to former general manager Sam Hinkie. Hinkie was able to make deals and orchestrate a solid plan to help rebuild a struggling 76ers franchise that hasn't been much of a contender since the days of Allen Iverson.
Those moves have allowed the 76ers to have the most promising future of young teams in the NBA at the moment. Last year, with the number one pick in the 2016 NBA Draft they were able to pick up the young phenom Ben Simmons from LSU. Aside from Simmons, Philly has been able to draft young stars like Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, Jahlil Okafor, and Timothy Luwawu Cabbarot over the last three seasons. Adding another top three pick this season will finally give 76ers fans a promising team for the future.
Would Lonzo fit with the 76ers?
It's safe to say Philly has arguably the best young frontcourt the NBA has to offer. However, they've lacked an explosive guard that can take over the game in key moments. In Lonzo Ball's only season as a freshman at UCLA, he was able to lead the Bruins to an outstanding 31-5 record and a number two seed in the NCAA's March Madness tournament.
Although he was not able to lead his team to the championship, his explosiveness and ability to handle the ball was impressive.
Ball seems to have no problem pulling up in transition and taking over the scoring duties if his team needs him to at any given moment. With the talented frontcourt that the Philadelphia 76ers already have, adding a talented point guard like Lonzo Ball will certainly make them a playoff contender this coming season.
However, the big question is, does Lonzo want to play in Philly?
Lonzo's future
The 76ers have a promising future, whether they are able to draft Lonzo Ball or not. If the Lakers don't take him first, and if the 76ers are really interested in drafting Ball come June, they will have to sell him on the things they plan on doing to become a championship contender, and what role he will have on their young, promising roster.
