Lonzo Ball – New Orleans Pelicans
After a lot of question marks surrounded Lonzo Ball’s performance late in the season last year in the NBA Bubble, he has completely turned the page on last year and looks like a completely new and improved player this season. We are still seeing the same Lonzo Ball in terms of his ability to be a floor general and facilitator for others, but with the additions of Eric Bledsoe and rookie Kira Lewis Jr, we have seen the young guard take on a new role as a combo-guard.
Lonzo’s abilities to play with or without the ball in his hands has gone up tremendously and now, with him set to become a restricted free agent this offseason, he is set to make a lot of money. Lonzo Ball has been mentioned in NBA rumors as being able to potentially receive offers upwards of $18M per season on a three to four year deal by a handful of teams around the league, which is why he could be on the move.
After not trading him at the NBA trade deadline this year, the Pelicans have made their intentions of wanting to re-sign Ball clear, but this does not mean he has to return to New Orleans. They do have the ability to match any offer he receives with him being a restricted free agent, giving the Pelicans all the leverage in contract negotiations, but going somewhere else is definitely not out of the equation for Lonzo Ball.
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Nobody really knows what he personally wants to do, as he is not as outspoken as his father, but some other big market teams like the Clippers, Knicks, Hawks and Bulls could all show a ton of interest in pursuing the young point guard this offseason.
While he may not be the type of player that can single-handedly win a championship, Lonzo Ball is more than capable of being a key player in a championship run for any team in this league, which is why his value is so high right now and why he is set to cash in this NBA free agency.
