Lonzo Ball really wants to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, but in the days leading up to the draft he tried his hardest not to address the team in interviews with the press. Ball was interviewed by a pair of outlets in the lead up to Thursday’s NBA Draft
That might be because his father has addressed his desire to see his sons — all three of them — play for the Lakers. Or maybe it’s because no one is sure if the Lakers are sold on Lonzo Ball just yet.
Ball wouldn’t talk about the Lakers directly in an interview with USA Today earlier this week, though he did reveal how much it would mean for him to get taken by his “hometown” team.
“The Lakers have a plan,” he said. “We’ll see what it is.”
Instead of saying Lakers, he called them the home team, but in a few moments of unguarded honesty, he made clear he would love to play for the famous local team.
“To able to put that jersey on and play for that team …,” Ball said.
He admitted he has attended only one Lakers game. It was four years ago, and it was against the Los Angeles Clippers, who were the home team. Asked why he didn’t attend any during this freshman season at UCLA, Ball said, “I was just in the gym working out at UCLA. I felt like that was more important.”
Though Ball is certainly the favorite to be taken by the Lakers, it’s said the team was undecided on what to do with the second overall pick even hours before the start of the draft.
As of this afternoon Lakers still have not committed to Lonzo Ball (not uncommon) and indicated De'Aaron Fox still under real consideration
— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) June 22, 2017
Ball also gave an interview where he told Sports Illustrated he would be a have been a rapper if basketball wasn’t in his life.
“I’d be a rapper,” Ball said when asked what he would do for a living if he didn’t play basketball. “I got a lot of tracks, I just ain’t dropped them yet, to be honest.”
Ball said he writes music when he’s bored.
“I got a close friend who raps. The only remix we did was the one we put out, to be honest. All of the rest of them are original. I write when I get bored, when I have nothing to do.”
With the amount of down time that comes with playing in the NBA Big Baller Brand might expand into an entertainment company soon enough.
