Lonzo Ball – New Orleans Pelicans
While the Clippers are $29.2M over the salary cap and do not have many draft assets to trade, they have been linked to Lonzo Ball for weeks and are still pursuing the young point guard. Now in his fourth season, Ball is having a career-year offensively and has also continued to be a factor defensively for the Pelicans.
In 38 games, Ball is averaging 14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.3 steals and is shooting 38.5% from beyond-the-arc. His ability to play with or without the ball in his hands is what makes Lonzo such a special player and the main reason why he could be the impactful player the Clippers need to make their championship push.
Lonzo Ball is a great point guard and could be a great player for years to come with the Clippers. Next to Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, two big time scorers, Ball could thrive as a facilitator for these two guys and add onto the defensive efforts of this team.
Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams only bring defense and scoring respectively to the table for the Clippers, which may not be the best thing for a championship level team. Beverley has shown the ability to knock down some shots and score at times, but he is not a great offensive player. The same goes for Lou Williams but being the opposite, as he is great offensively and a target by opponents on defense. Not to mention, both guys are in their 30’s and on the back-half of their careers.
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Having three point guards who will all be fighting for playing time is not ideal, which is why Lonzo Ball is a unique scenario for the Clippers because of his ability to play off-the-ball. The young guard is shooting 38.5% from three-point range this season and could easily play in a rotation with either Williams or Beverley in the backcourt as well.
The best part about Lonzo Ball’s game is that he is an extremely unselfish player who is always willing to make the extra pass. With shooters like Marcus Morris Sr. and Nicolas Batum sitting on the wing and corner, that extra pass could wind up being a major difference in this Clippers’ offense.