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The Los Angeles Lakers could have multiple options as far as improving their roster and adding to what seems to be a championship core this offseason. However, they don’t have a lot of resources to work with, so they will have to be smart and possibly think outside the box a bit.
In addition to a starting-level center, they need help at the guard and wing spots. During a recent episode of “Buha’s Block,” Lakers beat writer Jovan Buha was asked if the team would be interested in bringing back guard Lonzo Ball.
Buha said it would, but with two caveats.
“I do, I think they would be,” Buha said. “It’s just a matter of what his price is, and you have to factor in the health and the history there of just, you can’t even pencil him in for 60 games. So whatever you’re giving up for him, there has to be some level of a discount, or you’re factoring in, like, this dude might just play 40, 50 games. He’s a guy you have to load manage. Like, how can we load manage him to get to mid-April in one piece?”
Health has always been the big bugaboo for Ball. Since he was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Lakers, he has played in a total of just 287 games, which is not even four seasons’ worth of games.
Midway through the 2021-22 season, he suffered a torn meniscus, and even though he was initially expected to miss about six to eight weeks of action, he ended up not playing for three calendar years and had to undergo three separate surgical procedures.
However, when he has been healthy, he has been a good player, even if he has been merely a lower-tier starting point guard. During the 2021-22 season, he averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals a game while shooting 42.3% from 3-point range prior to his meniscus injury. He greatly improved his 3-point shooting, which was a major weakness early in his career, after the Lakers included him in the Anthony Davis trade in 2019.
This February, Ball signed a contract extension with the Chicago Bulls. He will make $10 million next season and has a $10 million team option for the 2026-27 season.
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