Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton knows a lot about pressure and that might make him the best option to coach Lonzo Ball after his Lakers chose the young UCLA star with the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Right after Lonzo was drafted, his father LaVar Ball was doing interviews with the media, and he guaranteed that his son would lead Los Angeles to the playoffs in his first season with the team. Walton was asked about that statement and just laughed it off.
Luke Walton's thoughts on Lonzo Ball
When asked about the statements by LaVar Ball, Luke Walton just said that he is not concerned about something that far into the future.
The coach said that he just wants Lonzo Ball to help the Los Angeles Lakers win some summer league games and then he will worry about the 2017-18 NBA season when it arrives.
The Lakers had a huge star in D'Angelo Russell but have missed the playoffs in four straight seasons. Los Angeles traded away Russell this week in anticipation of drafting Lonzo Ball. While Russell was not a team leader, that is what many hope that Lonzo becomes for the once-proud Los Angeles basketball team.
While that is a lot of pressure, Luke Walton might be the perfect person to be there to help Lonzo Ball as he enters the NBA. Walton said that LaVar Ball is his own man and will likely keep talking and that will create a bullseye on the back of Lonzo.
However, Walton also said that he knows what that bullseye feels like since his father, NBA Hall of Fame star Bill Walton, put a bullseye on his own back and things turned out well.
The 2017-18 Los Angeles Lakers
While LaVar Ball has all the confidence in the world that Lonzo Ball will lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the playoffs, the NBA is a team sport.
D'Angelo Russell, as talented as he is, couldn't help the Lakers rise from the bottom of the Western Conference, much less compete for a playoff spot.
With Russell gone, that will fall on Lonzo Ball's shoulders, but he will have to lead a young Lakers team into the 2017-18 season. Los Angeles did add Brook Lopez in the trade that sent Russell away.
While LaVar Ball says his son will be better than Steph Curry, Lonzo has to prove it on the court.
Lonzo won't have D'Angelo Russell as a teammate, but he does have last year's second pick in the NBA Draft in forwarding Brandon Ingram. In the last 15 games of the season, Williams averaged 14 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. The Los Angeles Lakers also have promising young players like Larry Nance Jr. and Ivica Zubac. The talent is there, but a playoff guarantee is a lot of pressure for young Lonzo Ball.
