New Orleans Pelicans: 3 players to watch heading into 2019-20
Lonzo Ball
Getting traded to New Orleans was the best thing for Lonzo Ball’s young career. After two injury-plagued and frustrating seasons in Los Angeles, Ball did not live up to the expectations that the Lakers had for him when they drafted him No. 2 in 2017.
Maybe it was the distraction of his father, LaVar Ball, the world’s worst Little League parent, chirping from the sidelines about the coaches. Maybe it was the injuries. Maybe it was the fact that he lost confidence in his game because of his erratic jump shot. Or maybe coach Luke Walton lost confidence in him since they brought in veteran point guard Rajon Rondo to compete with Ball for the starting job in year two.
Now, Ball gets a chance to start over, away from his home and all the distractions of LA. He’s definitely matured and become more of his own man, taking control of the situation with the failed Big Baller Brand shoe company and suing former business partner Alan Foster. As he said on HBO’s The Shop:
"“Because people, how they see my dad in the media is how they see him. But me, I can tell him anything. But I would say that’s the first time I called him and he literally shut up. I would say that. I looked at DMo, I had him on speaker, I’m like ‘He ain’t talking.’ He always talking. That was the first time I was like ‘No, you need to listen.’ So, that was hard, Because that was the first time I ever told him like ‘Let me talk.’ And he stopped and I pulled up to the house that night and laid it out for him. And then we been moving forward ever since.”"
Free of distractions, look for Ball to have a breakout year in New Orleans. He’ll likely start at point guard alongside Jrue Holiday, although some depth charts have him coming off the bench with JJ Reddick starting at the two. Either way, when he’s in the game, the offense will run through him and he’s got a nice complement of scorers around him in Ingram, Reddick, Holiday, and Williamson that he’ll be able to do what he does best, facilitate.
Also, he’ll help defensively as he and Holiday will form an excellent defensive backcourt. Ball is ready to lead and if he does have the type of year that he’s been expected to have since he was drafted two years ago, the Pelicans could be formidable.