Lonzo Ball‘s NBA debut brought an electric atmosphere to Saturday’s preseason opener, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. The second overall pick had a rough shooting night, going 2 for 9 from the field and finishing with five points, but he contributed eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals and showed a sell-out crowd his triple-double potential. “He is so unselfish that sometimes he has good shots for himself and he tries to get someone else a shot,” said Lakers coach Luke Walton. “We want him taking those. We are looking for him to be a little more aggressive to score the ball, especially early on. I thought he was great the way he was moving around out there and getting people involved.”
There’s more news out of Los Angeles:
- Fellow first-rounder Kyle Kuzma had no shooting problems, sinking 9 of 12 shots and scoring 19 points. The 27th pick out of Utah sparked the Lakers’ offense in the third quarter with four buckets in 91 seconds and showed the same explosiveness he displayed during summer league. “It’s not so much 100 miles per hour like you’d think it is,” Kuzma told Joey Ramirez of NBA.com about the adjustment to the pro game. “It’s really pace, stop and go — I definitely learned a lot out there just in that one game.”
- Reigning G League MVP Vander Blue is trying to use every advantage as he competes for a roster spot, Ramirez writes in a separate story. Blue has been showing up to practice three hours early each day and scouted all his potential teammates on video before camp began. Blue has been a productive G League player over the past three years, but has just five NBA games on his resume since leaving Marquette in 2013.
- Andrew Bogut has resolved his visa issues and is ready to join the Lakers, the veteran center tweeted. Bogut agreed to a one-year, minimum-salary deal with L.A. in mid-September but hasn’t been able to come to the United States because of the visa problem. Bogut is eager to prove that he is fully recovered from a fractured tibia that ended his season in March.
I know I’m a little bit late with this, but I’m liking kuzma. He looked outstanding in summer league. I know it’s only preseason but he’s showing a lot of confidence.
He was able to foul smartly. In other words he can get physical without getting called for it. He uses poise for that and shooting 3s.
Honestly, Kuzma could have more upside than Ball. I think LA struck gold with that pick.
With Nance and Kuzma serving as promising options at the 4 spot I think they should trade Randle at some point this year since the Lakers likely won’t pay him what he will command this offseason. Deadline most likely.
That’s a good call. Randall could bring something excellent back. I also believe that Randall is a little bit limited and that he’s probably as good as he’s going to be, with his improvements this season. Sell high.
I agree Randle should probably be moved but I’m not sure what the market is for a player like him. Most places in the league he would probably come off the bench but not sure what he will demand in RFA. Teams looking for young talent like Chicago or NY could try to acquire
Randle is Still the same? No I thing he’s regressed
He’ll be playing for some other team by February, hopefully sooner.