LaVar Ball has been outspoken about the Los Angeles Lakers and the moves that they make since his son Lonzo Ball was taken with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He has once again made headlines after talking about what LeBron James signing with the Lakers means for the franchise, as well as his son.
During an interview with TMZ Sports , Ball opened up about his thoughts of the Lakers’ massive free agency signing.
“The Warriors can sign Boogie, Prince, Michael Jordan, anybody they want! They still ain’t gonna win with this team right here—the Lakers with LeBron! You don’t give my son the best player in the game and don’t think he gonna win no championships!”
As Ball touched on, the Golden State Warriors went out and signed All-Star big man DeMarcus Cousins in free agency. It was a move that shocked the entire NBA world. Cousins is joining a team that has won three championships in four years and is considered a lock to win a fourth in five years next season.
Los Angeles is certainly going to be a contender in the Western Conference, but it is hard to see them getting past the Warriors with the current roster that they have put together.
James and Ball have a decent supporting cast with Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma being extremely talented young players. Magic Johnson also went out and signed veteran free agents Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee, and Rajon Rondo to bolster the roster.
LaVar Ball believes the Lakers will make easy work of the Warriors next season. (via @TMZ , @TMZ_Sports ) https://t.co/whMqfvrobr pic.twitter.com/F93o6WhnLT
— NESN (@NESN) July 3, 2018
Other reports have stated that Cousins wanted to join the Lakers and would have signed a similar one-year deal with the team worth just over $5 million. Unfortunately for Lakers fans, the team decided to pass on the star big man this offseason.
Whether the Lakers win a championship this season or not, James is committed to the team long-term. He has made it clear that the first year is not the only reason he signed with the team. Los Angeles is viewed as the top free agency landing spot for Kawhi Leonard next offseason if they do not pull off a trade for him before then.
Fans in L.A. have been waiting for this kind of moment. It has been a rough few years as the Lakers have gone through a long rebuilding process. At the very least, the Lakers are going to be an entertaining team once again that are going to make the playoffs and bring more competition to the Western Conference.
Expect to see the Lakers continue trying to improve the roster throughout the remainder of the offseason. They may be done making moves and a trade for Leonard doesn’t seem likely, but Ball might just be right about the future of James and Lonzo in Los Angeles.