There has been a lot of talk that LaVar Ball’s brash and outspoken ways could harm his son’s draft stock, but Magic Johnson says the controversial father will not play a role into the Lakers’ decision on Lonzo Ball.
ESPN Basketball Insider Jeff Goodman tweeted on Thursday that Magic, who is the new Lakers’ president, says he won’t let the presence of LaVar impact the team’s decision on Lonzo.
Magic Johnson told me that Lavar Ball will not have any impact whatsoever on whether he would select Lonzo. https://t.co/Lka6y0oEmm
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) May 11, 2017
Assuming Magic is telling the truth, there is at least one team out there willing to draft the UCLA point guard despite knowing about LaVar.
The question for the Lakers is whether they’d even have the opportunity to do so.
The Lakers have a lottery pick that is top-3 protected. That means if their picks falls within the top three, they get to make the pick. If it falls outside of that range, the pick would convey to the Philadelphia 76ers. So not only do the Lakers need to get a break in the lottery, but they also potentially would need one or two teams to pass on Ball depending on where their pick is.
A report has described the Lakers as “enamored” with Ball, so this comment shouldn’t come as a surprise.
