A potential issue in the trade Anthony Davis reportedly wants to Los Angeles is that Lakers guard Lonzo Ball’s camp has some reservations about heading to New Orleans. According to a report, those close to Ball would want him sent to a third team, as there are concerns about the number of backcourt players that suit up for the Pelicans.
It’s a legitimate issue, as Ball is arguably the best young player that New Orleans could get back for Davis in the event he’s flipped to the Lakers. However, the problem might not be as severe as it may seem, as a report by Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times indicates that Ball would get the chance to be the man right away in his potential new digs.
Ganguli reported that while “his preference would be for the Lakers to find a third team such as Chicago or New York,” New Orleans would covet the young standout and have him start right away, with Jrue Holiday playing off the ball.
According to sources, the Pelicans view Ball as a player who would become the starting point guard. They don’t see Jrue Holiday as a point guard because he “doesn’t want to be a point guard,” one source said.
The sources said the Pelicans would play Ball 35 minutes a night and make sure he “would fit” in with New Orleans so he could become a star.
Holiday is a flexible enough guard that he already plays both positions, with basketball-reference estimating that 66 percent of his minutes this season have come off the ball, a majority of them coming as a 2-guard. Perhaps this would alleviate Ball’s concerns about a positional fit, but of course, if the rumblings that he’d like to go to a big market like Chicago or New York are a major factor in being skeptical of New Orleans, there’s nothing the Pelicans could do about that.
