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Timing of Lonzo Ball injury report raising eyebrows as Lakers trade rumors swirl

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If your team is a major player in blockbuster trade rumors that, if true, would lead to the creation of a superteam and instant NBA Finals contender in the jam-packed Western Conference, you might want to avoid anything that sends a signal to other teams that you cannot be trusted and that no team should consider your words in good faith when making a deal.

Like, say, concealing a major injury to one of the key players in any proposed trade, for example.

A bombshell report by Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania says that Lonzo Ball has a torn meniscus in his left knee.

The meniscus, a sac of cartilage that works as a sort of constant squirt of WD-40 on the knee joint to keep the bones from grinding together, is one of those injuries that once the damage crosses a certain point, the next step is degeneration of the joint, the kind of thing that makes old men walk in halting strides and stop every five steps to rub a sore knee. It is the first step in a degenerative condition.

And while Ball is expected to be ready for the start of the season, this is especially damaging to hopes the Lakers had of being able to persuade the San Antonio Spurs to part with Kawhi Leonard; Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma have all been talked about as trade pieces to make that deal happen.

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If the Spurs think the Lakers aren’t being honest about the merchandise on offer, they’re likely to hang up the phone and walk away.

Ball was one of the worst offensive rookies in the NBA last season; among the 10 rookies who started at least 50 games for their team in the 2017-18 season, he was one of only three (Dennis Smith Jr. and De’Aaron Fox were the other two) with negative offensive win shares for the season.

Ball’s effective field goal percentage, a measure that takes 3-pointers into account by counting them as 1.5 makes compared to 2-pointers, was the worst among that rookie starter group. He was dead last in 2-point percentage and last in 3-point percentage (not counting Ben Simmons, who attempted just 11 of them), and his free throw shooting made Shaquille O’Neal look like Larry Bird.

So for the Lakers to have found a team potentially willing to take out their trash only to alienate them by being sneaky about his medical condition?

Will Lonzo Ball ever be an NBA All-Star?

It’s not even a good lie. Spurs team doctors undoubtedly would subject Ball to a physical as a condition of completing the trade, especially since Ball missed 30 games last season with knee problems.

And speaking of Ball, one wonders if Paul George really wants to sign with a guy whose counting stats — 10.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game — essentially make him a dollar-store knockoff version of Russell Westbrook when George could just re-sign with Oklahoma City and play alongside the real thing.

As for LeBron James, the only people convinced he is signing with the Lakers are Lakers fans. LeBron is 33 years old and working on a streak of eight straight trips to the NBA Finals. The only teams he’s really considering, according to credible rumors, are the Rockets and 76ers, the former one win away from making the Finals in 2018 and in possession of league MVP James Harden, the latter with a strong young core that won 52 games in the 2017-18 regular season and looks to be a veteran leadership piece away from being a championship contender.

The Lakers are a hot mess with incompetent front office leadership and a point guard who is the single worst shooter in the entire league.

And that “worst shooter” can’t even stay healthy.

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Boston born and raised, Fox has been writing about sports since 2011. He covered ESPN Friday Night Fights shows for The Boxing Tribune before shifting focus and launching Pace and Space, the home of "Smart NBA Talk for Smart NBA Fans", in 2015. He can often be found advocating for various NBA teams to pack up and move to his adopted hometown of Seattle.
Boston born and raised, Fox has been writing about sports since 2011. He covered ESPN Friday Night Fights shows for The Boxing Tribune before shifting focus and launching Pace and Space, the home of "Smart NBA Talk for Smart NBA Fans", in 2015. He can often be found advocating for various NBA teams to pack up and move to his adopted hometown of Seattle.
Birthplace
Boston, Massachusetts
Education
Bachelor of Science in Accounting from University of Nevada-Reno
Location
Seattle, Washington
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Sports




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