The shocking trade of D’Angelo Russell and the drastic paradigm shift it creates for both the team’s future and how they will perform on the court has upended what was previously a somewhat straightforward calculus going up to the NBA draft.
Lonzo Ball is still the prohibitive choice, but with Russell gone, the widely discussed fit of the two in the same backcourt has been thrown to the wind and we will quickly see whether Ball can deal with the pressure of being a lead guard on a rebuilding squad.
With this in mind, the Silver Screen and Roll staff address how they see Ball’s fit on the squad sans Russell and their final thoughts on the Lakers’ selection second overall as the draft rapidly approaches.