The Los Angeles Lakers hope that they have found a future star in Lonzo Ball, but they know that it’s going to take more than just him to put the team back into contention.
With that in mind, Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka have gone to great lengths to free up cap space for next summer, when superstar players like LeBron James, Paul George, and DeMarcus Cousins will be available in free agency.
For Ball, who grew up idolizing James, playing alongside his favorite player would be a dream come true. He’s just at the dawn of his NBA career and Ball still has a lot to learn.
With the young Lakers guard turning 20 years old, James made sure to reach out via Twitter and send his well wishes. After the Lakers loss to the Toronto Raptors on Friday night, Ball responded to the message from James, via our own Serena Winters:
Lonzo on LeBron’s birthday tweet: “That was my favorite player growing up and now he’s wishing me happy birthday, that’s pretty cool.” https://t.co/2fHvUgsr6a
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) October 28, 2017
Of course, it wouldn’t be the NBA if a simple tweet didn’t lead to rampant speculation, although in this case the James-to-LA rumors have already been running wild for some time. Still, as inconsequential as the tweet will likely end up being, it certainly isn’t a bad sign that James is friendly with Ball (at least for those hoping James does indeed sign with the Lakers).
In order for the Lakers to land James they will likely need to clear enough cap space to bring in a second star to play alongside him, which will be a difficult task for Johnson and Pelinka. Still, if James sends word that he’s willing to make the leap to Los Angeles and the brutal Western Conference, expect the Lakers to move heaven and earth to make it happen.
