Luke Walton says Lonzo Ball’s role will not change despite benching
Lonzo Ball curiously sat the entire fourth quarter of Wednesday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, but that doesn’t mean his role will change going forward.
Lakers coach Luke Walton, who closed the Philly game with Jordan Clarkson, said on Thursday that there are “no talks” about bringing Ball off the bench and reaffirmed him as their starter, per Serena Winters of Lakers Nation.
Luke Walton said there have been 'no talks,' about bring Lonzo Ball off the bench. 'He's our starting point guard.'
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 16, 2017
Though he has been brilliant in a couple of games this season, Ball has largely struggled as a rookie, especially offensively. He has managed just 9.0 points per game through 15 contests and has been dreadful shooting the basketball, posting 30/23/50 splits. Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson seems to think the team should just let him be and give Ball a long leash to figure it out on his own, and it sounds like Walton feels the same way.
