The NBA Draft is coming next Thursday and conventional knowledge indicates that the Los Angeles Lakers will draft UCLA star Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick in the draft. However, there is an outside chance that the Lakers could pass on Ball and choose to draft either Kansas forward Josh Jackson or Kentucky point guard, De'Aaron Fox, instead. However, Lonzo will return to Los Angeles for a second workout to try to convince the Lakers to draft him to the only NBA team his father LaVar Ball wants him to play for.
The Lakers workouts
Lonzo Ball has already come to work out for the Los Angeles Lakers once.
The workout even had Lakers’ legend and current team president Magic Johnson in attendance. However, word came after the workout that the Lakers were not completely sold on Lonzo and they were looking at other options as well just in case. Ball has an unorthodox shooting style and Los Angeles was not able to see him actually working against other players and seemed to want to cover their own bases.
Even when his dad LaVar Ball said that he would only work out for the Lakers, Lonzo Ball said he might consider working out for other teams if his second trip to Los Angeles did not work out as well as he hoped. If Lonzo is already submitting to working out for other teams, it seems like the assured Lakers draft pick might not be set in stone after all.
Reports indicate that Lonzo looked “out of shape” during the workout.
Other Lakers options
One of the other options for the Los Angeles Lakers at the number two spot in the NBA Draft is Josh Jackson. The Kansas forward showed up on Tuesday to work out for the team and the Lakers’ official Twitter site sent out a message that it was a “great workout.” Jackson actually canceled a workout with the Boston Celtics, who have the first pick of the draft, to go work out for the Lakers.
Jackson is a tremendous defensive player and that is an area the Lakers need help.
A recent NBA rumor has the Boston Celtics considering Josh Jackson as well. If the Celtics choose to draft Jackson, expect the Los Angeles Lakers to turn their attention to Markelle Fultz, the Washington point guard that is expected to be the first overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft.
As for De’Aaron Fox, the Kentucky star averaged 16.7 points a game in SEC play and also led the conference with 4.6 assists a game. Fox had a private workout with the Los Angeles Lakers. As for Lonzo Ball, his second workout is today and he hopes to make a better showing so he can reach his dream of playing for his hometown Lakers.
