Lonzo Ball is absolutely going to be the No. 2 overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft, because the Los Angeles Lakers will trade away D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov for Brook Lopez and the No. 27 overall pick Thursday.
Adrian Wojnarowski had the breaking news on this.
Lakers are trading Tim Mozgov and D'Angelo Russell to Nets for Brook Lopez and 27th pick Thursday, sources say.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 20, 2017
Russell and Ball weren’t going to work out. Russell made it clear that he didn’t want the Lakers drafting Ball a couple weeks ago, and it seems the team got the message.
With Russell out of the picture, the Lakers can bring Lonzo Ball on board and immediately turn over the point guard duties to him. This also sets the team up nicely to pursue Paul George, as it’s been rumored, and potentially lure LeBron James to LA in 2018.
This is a huge trade that will shape the landscape of the NBA for years to come.