Golden State Warriors: Why Lonzo Ball would be a great fit

Why Lonzo all would be a great fit on the Golden State Warriors

According to a recent report, fromThe Athletic’s Shams Charania (subscription required), the New Orleans Pelicans are open to potentially moving Lonzo Ball and J.J. Redick ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline. In the same report, Charania adds that the Golden State Warriors are one team that has shown interest in Ball, potentially in exchange for Kelly Oubre Jr.

Given their salaries, the two teams could pull off a straight swap of Lonzo for Oubre Jr. if they wanted to.

Most mock trades fans are throwing out there see the Warriors also sending out a second-round pick and sometimes the Pelicans adding an end-of-the-bench player. For this article, let’s assume the only on-court talent moving both ways is the two players.

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What really excites me in this trade is the potential fit of Lonzo Ball with this Golden State team.

Lonzo is a cerebral player and while he might not be worth the second-overall pick in a 2017 redraft, or possibly not even the best point guard in his draft class, he has a gift as a passer and it’s a joy to watch.

One of the more underrated components of their title runs in the past decade was Andre Igoudala. He famously came off the bench for the younger Harrison Barnes when Steve Kerr took over as head coach, was the team’s best wing defender when it mattered most (LeBron), and always checked in, settled the team down, and made solid decisions.

Additionally, in every critical out-of-bounds pass, he was the one initiating the play. Kerr trusted him and his praise for the wing didn’t end when he went to another team in the Miami Heat.

Now, I’m not going to say Lonzo can be the next Igoudala, but he might be able to replicate it better than anyone else right now.

When Lonzo Ball is on the court this season, the Pelicans turn the ball over 1.7 percent less, an elite on/off number this season per Cleaning the Glass. While he adds a minimal amount of offensive production (+2.6 points per 100 possessions), he holds opponents to 6.1 fewer points per 100 possessions this season, another elite mark.

His two best skills are passing and defense. On a team with a white-hot Stephen Curry, a rejuvenated Andrew Wiggins, a young scoring big man in James Wiseman and hopefully a healthy Klay Thompson next season, this team doesn’t need to get better in terms of scoring. They might even just need more people to get the ball to their best players.

Also, Golden State is 22nd in the league in terms of transition play frequency, lower than their average with Steph on the team. Anyone who has watched Lonzo knows he looks like Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit when he grabs a defensive rebound – his eyes are right up the floor, looking at the chess pieces moving on the ceiling for the right pass.

More on the offensive end, fans are confused at the moment if he’s a reliable shooter. Last season, he got his 3-point percentage up to 38 percent on over six attempts per game while this season he’s at 29 percent on just over seven attempts per contest.

That lack of a 3-point shot is concerning especially since last season was the aberration, not this one. But hey, anything’s better than this year’s Kelly Oubre from behind the arc at the moment.

He also fits perfectly into Oubre’s role, guarding opponent shooting guards, next to Wiggins who has been taking the best wing player on the other team. Next season when Klay comes back, Lonzo could assume the Igoudala role off the bench to start but closing games since he can play next to Steph and Klay both at the same time and together.

The final consideration is his contract situation. In the final season of his rookie contract, Lonzo is currently making a bit less than Oubre but will likely see an uptick in salary entering restricted free agency this season.

Oubre is also expiring but will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, meaning he can go wherever he likes without Golden State having matching rights.

If the Warriors are happy to keep the team over the luxury tax line and continue to pay through the teeth to keep Lonzo around at wherever his number may fall, they can do it. It’d be a dangerous game because if one of the cap space teams (New York, Cleveland, Detroit) see Lonzo as worth a shot, they could simply overpay the guard and force the Warriors’ hands.

But on the other side of that coin, Oubre came to the Warriors via the Andre Igoudala traded player exception, letting them take on his salary regardless of the fact the team was over the cap. That exception doesn’t exist anymore but by trading and resigning Lonzo, the Warriors will essentially have another exception and similar sized contract to move if they want to the following season, for another mid-tier role player like Lonzo or Oubre or even as part of something bigger.

Next. New York Knicks: 3 players New York should move at the trade deadline. dark

Maybe I’m putting the car before the horse when talking about Lonzo’s second contract on a team he isn’t even on right now. In terms of his team fit, I think he’d fit wonderfully and he strikes me as the type of player Steve Kerr falls in love with. Will he get the chance?

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