been watching more video of our likely pick--don't like that he doesn't finish well against defense. that's another thing kidd could do right out of the box. what you want to do and what you're forced to do are different. ask mike dantoni. yes, ideally, the lakers run a system in which nobody has to break anyone down off the dribble or in the pick and roll, and nobody ever has to take a midrange shot with a guy on his hip. but the best teams make you do this, and if you absolutely can't, you get smoked.
I understand the NBA level is completely different, but you just don't go shooting 70% from inside the arc and call that getting smoked. Hell, Rondo lived off not being able to even shoot. With that guys head on straight, you could still say he would be a decent player.
rondo also played a very different style and was a top notch defender at his peak. rondo was a much better finisher in the paint in the halfcourt, too, which matters. lakersfilmroom has some good thoughts about all this stuff. his concerns about ball are the same as mine. he also likes dennis smith more than others, as do i.
so you're saying you're lakersfilmroom? jk. the concerns are valid, and I'm not trying to cover that for lonzo. but he also has a lot of other things going for him over rondo in size and athleticism when it comes to finishing.
I think Fox would make more of an impact with the guys we have now... Ball will make more of an impact year two where we have a bonifide go to guy in Paul George and Russell moving around taking shots off screens or posted at the 3 line.
I'm a huuuuge USC homer who hates the Bruins with a burning passion, so I'm not evaluating Lonzo from the perspective of a homer. With that out of the way... The way Lonzo sees the floor and has that uncanny knack for finding teammates in the right spot at the right time is just so special. The comparison I keep coming back to is Jason Kidd. That aspect of their games is so similar to me, and you add in the fact that Lonzo has an accurate J with nice range? Wooooh boy, that's a home run to me. He's a unique prospect with his funky shot release and lackluster D, but like Russell, I don't think he's as bad of a defender as his reputation would indicate. His size, length, & athleticism lead me to believe he has the tools to become at least competent on the defensive end. As for Fox, I really like him & wouldn't throw a fit if he was our selection. I still think Ball is the better fit because he provides the outside shooting our team is sorely lacking. Fox is a great prospect and that athleticism/speed is nothing to scoff at, but we'd still be utterly lacking in shooting. Would be a much tougher fit, so unless the Lakers see Fox as head & shoulders better than Ball, I think Ball's strengths fitting our needs better would be the tie-breaker there if you view them as similarly valuable prospects.
Ball, Russell, Ingram, and Randle are all very good passers for their respective positions and can all rebound and push a break coast to coast, bring the ball up, or initiate in the half court. That's some passing versatility. If Zu can continue to improve and show flashes of post passing vision, oh boy!
I just posted in the PG thread to answer your question.i wanna see Tarik run and fun with that line up. TRob as well.
As an SC guy myself I have not been this excited and we're getting a damn Bruin! This is how amazing I think Ball is!
I love tarik and trob as small ball centers as well. But I don't hink we're going to be able to get rid of BOTH Deng and Moz. That being said, Deng is the prefered one to go, leaving Moz. Zu and Moz are getting the vast majority of minutes, leaving Tarik or Trob as 3rd stringers with minimal minutes. One of them is gone for sure.
Yeah and additionally who is Magic going to choose, a kid that plays the game exactly as he wants it played and only the rarest ballers can, or take Fox. When he was the pick of Doc Buss for the exact same reasons over Sidney Moncrief whom West wanted. This has to be a done deal. Just find someway to not have your Lakers fans tortured by the presence of his dad. Keep him off your shows. Will be bad enough with local sports TV news.
I think Moz becomes more valuable with Ball running PG. dude is going to get a lot of dunks and layups up close.
It's also important to note that LFR likes Lonzo too. A lot. I've spoken to him about it. Lonzo has flaws, but they're flaws we can work with. The concern that he can't break down an NBA defense to me is a little overstated but even if that's true, when we go to pick and rolls, we use Russell. That's part of why they make a good pairing.
You don't think the team would be impacted now with a guy who could distribute the ball the way Ball can?
I remember Deng came around, then down again before going full youth/tank. Was kinda the same thing with Moz. With all the young talent on the team, their contracts still aren't hurting in the sense of we can't do what we want at the moment. I think they both can have solid first couple months of the season next year and we can always deal later. To me, as backups and better surrounding&CONSISTENT(productive?) personnel they'll be alright. Both should be mighty fresh next year, and both need to lose weight IMO to fit the faster pace better.