Lonzo Ball has heard his name come up in trade rumors quite a bit this season, and there is reportedly at least one team he is interested in playing for if the Los Angeles Lakers decide to move him.
Ball has been mentioned as a possible piece of the puzzle in the Lakers’ pursuit of Pelicans star Anthony Davis, but Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times reports that the former UCLA star would not want to play in New Orleans. Ball would, however, be open to joining the Phoenix Suns.
After learning of the Lakers’ offers to the Pelicans, Lonzo Ball’s camp maintains that New Orleans isn’t the desired destination. Phoenix makes the most basketball sense if Ball were to be traded and according to two sources there is mutual interest.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) January 31, 2019
Unlike Davis, who can try to control his destination by telling interested teams he will not sign with them long-term, Ball doesn’t have much leverage. For starters, he’s under team control for four more seasons. He also isn’t exactly the type of star player who is going to be able to push around the Lakers or potential trade partners.
The Suns are 11-42 and one of the worst teams in the NBA, so they make some sense for Ball in that he is an inexpensive player with a lot of potential. If the former No. 2 overall pick is coveted by other teams, the Lakers would probably try to use him to acquire some sort of asset or assets that would help them land Davis. If LA has a chance to get Davis, it sounds like no player on their roster other than LeBron James is untouchable.
