After weeks of anticipation, the Los Angeles Lakers were finally able to evaluate Lonzo Ball during a private workout on Wednesday. Ball showcased his talent in front of the Lakers brass, and now the UCLA product can only wait and see if his hometown team is willing to take a chance on him with the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
According to Tania Ganguli of the L.A. Times, the workout went as expected:
Also heard Lonzo Ball's workout went well today. What the Lakers expected to see from him.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) June 8, 2017
The phrase “went well” is something often said after pre-draft workouts with top prospects and meetings with free agents. Hearing this about the Ball workout comes as no surprise, but if the Lakers truly saw what they “expected,” it could be another story altogether with reports of the team needing to be blown away by the former UCLA star.
As usual, rumors and speculation about workouts and the team’s thoughts on players will fluctuate in the weeks leading up to draft day on June 22. One day Ball could be the ideal fit for the Lakers and the obvious choice while the next day the narrative could completely change with De’Aaron Fox or another top prospect potentially jumping ahead of Ball on the Lakers’ draft board.
At this point, it seems like a foregone conclusion that the Lakers will take Ball at No. 2. All indications are pointing in that direction, but with a little over two weeks until the draft and more workouts on the horizon, anything can happen.