Lonzo Ball’s recent rise makes Pelicans’ decision on his future even tougher由asjkfj 发表在翻译团招工部 https://bbs.hupu.com/fyt-store
Some guys make it easy on their general managers by proving their worth as max contract candidates. Others make it obvious the franchise should move on once their deal is done.
For the New Orleans Pelicans, Lonzo Ball falls somewhere in the middle.
He hasn’t shown the kind of All-Star potential that would make it easy for New Orleans to throw a boatload of cash at him when he hits restricted free agency next offseason. But it’s not like letting him walk would be an easy decision, either.
Through the first month of the season, Ball looked like he was making the Pelicans’ decision for them.
After a disappointing showing in the NBA bubble, Ball carried his subpar play over to the start of the 2020-21 season and looked lost. His shots weren’t falling, his fit within Stan Van Gundy’s offense was unclear, and the rumblings about him by the Pels fan base were louder than ever.
It took only 34 days after the season started before our own Shams Charania started reporting that New Orleans was open to listening to offers for one of the primary players they received in the blockbuster Anthony Davis trade.
After selecting Kira Lewis Jr. with the No. 13 pick in the 2020 draft, the Pelicans appeared to be starting to prepare for life without Ball. Then, the version of Ball whom New Orleans fell in love with before the pandemic hit came back to life.
The team advised the 23-year-old to sit three games in January to rehab an ailing knee and switch up some of his training methods to prevent the issue from recurring. Once he returned to the lineup, he hasn’t looked back.
In his past 16 games, Ball is averaging 16.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists while posting 47/47/84 shooting splits. He’s gone from looking like the odd man out to an essential part in the team’s mini-turnaround over the past month.
With the trade deadline coming up in less than a month, the pressure is on for New Orleans to decide whether Ball is part of its future or if the team needs to move forward and cash in on him as an asset while they still have the opportunity.
“He got healthy. I think that was a big part of it,” Van Gundy said. “He’s shooting the ball really well. I think he’s playing more aggressively offensively, trying to get into the paint more. (He’s) pushing the ball faster in transition, not just throwing it ahead. That’s all been good.
“He’s playing at a very, very high level, and we need that.”
It wasn’t that shocking to see Ball’s 3-point shooting improve from the dismal 28.6 percent mark he shot in the first 11 games. This is the same guy who shot 37.5 percent from deep last season.
But Ball hasn’t improved just his shooting from deep. He’s also looked like one of the elite shooters in the NBA over the past month. Since returning from his knee injury, the Pelicans point guard has converted on 69 of his 157 attempts (43.9 percent) from deep. The only players with more 3s than Ball during that stretch are Stephen Curry (106), Malik Beasley (83) and Damian Lillard (72).
That’s some decent company.
Ball’s ability to take and make 3s at a high volume has become even more critical with the increased ballhandling responsibilities Van Gundy has given to Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram within his offense.
Per Cleaning the Glass, 56 percent of Ball’s shots last year came on 3-pointers, a career high for him. This year, he’s up to 61 percent of his shots coming from deep, and it’s ticked up slightly to 63 percent since his return from injury.
Yes, his offensive game would be much more complete if he drove to the rim a little more and forced defenses to put him on the free-throw line. But spacing will be the key in an offense built around Williamson and Ingram. Ball is looking like the type of guard who can thrive in that environment.
“I didn’t really change much, just started making sure I got square on all my shots,” Ball said of his improved shooting. “The biggest thing was just shooting it with confidence and trusting all the work I put in.”
Above all, two questions need to be answered about anyone who has plans to be in New Orleans for the long term: How do you fit next Williamson? And how can you make Williamson better?
The jump Ball has made as a shooter provides an obvious answer to both questions, but he also brings an added element to their partnership.
From the moment Ball and Williamson started playing together last year, there’s been an obvious connection between them. It’s similar to what we’ve seen from great guard-forward pairings in the past, like Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin or Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire.
It’s not like that special connection is required for success — we’ve seen Williamson make plenty of outstanding plays without any help. But finding someone who’s always on the same wavelength with your best scorer and knows how to get him the ball in advantageous positions isn’t something you can just find in free agency or the draft.
Look at these two plays Ball and Williamson made in the first quarter of Thursday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
These probably aren’t plays they worked on in practice or talked about in the huddle. There are at least two or three times every game when Ball feels an opening coming for Williamson and immediately throws the ball where it needs to be for the big man to make a play.
In Williamson’s 55 career games, Ball has picked up an assist on 113 of his 517 field goals. That’s basically one out of every five baskets made by the All-Star forward coming off a pass by Ball. Williamson’s other teammates aren’t even close. And that’s not even accounting for all the times Ball’s passes have led to free throws for the phenom forward.
Williamson has enough talent to be dominant with just about anyone you put around him. Still, having a guard like Ball with a special knack for making magical plays with the 2019 No. 1 overall pick has to give him added value.
“Me and Lonzo, our games complement each other so well. There times when me and Lonzo are just playing basketball out there,” Williamson said. “When we’re out there, we’re both giving each other confidence, telling each other to shoot, (saying) that we trust each other to make the right decision in the situation.”
Even though those opportunities haven’t come as often as in the past, Ball has done a much better job lately of pushing the pace and getting New Orleans into early offense.
Early in the season, one of the biggest issues was how much the Pels were walking the ball up on offense and going against set defenses.
As of late, Ball has been getting the offense going at a much faster pace, and it’s given Williamson and Ingram more easy opportunities.
Playing with that frantic pace has always been a core part of Ball’s identity, but there was always a level of recklessness that sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t. It was easy to see how much that side of his game annoyed Van Gundy, who would throw his hands up in disgust whenever Ball would miss one of his touchdown passes to Williamson from the opposite side of the court.
Ball has cleaned up some of those careless turnovers, and he’s gone from averaging 2.6 giveaways in the first 11 games to 1.8 in his past 18. He’s gone from averaging 3.1 turnovers last year to 2.1 this season. If that mark holds, it would be the lowest of his career.
“I feel like I’ve got the ball a lot in the offense, especially early on in the games. (I’m) making plays to open up the defense for us,” Ball said. “I’m just trying to take those gaps and get out in transition more, play a little faster than I have in the past.”
Ball’s defensive impact has also made a big jump, as he’s taken over a big chunk of the responsibilities left over after the departure of all-world defender Jrue Holiday.
The Pelicans guard has been a solid defender for most of his career because of his activity away from the ball and his ability to read plays and jump passing lanes. This season, he’s been called upon to take on more individual matchups against some of the league’s top perimeter scorers.
In the past five games alone, he’s gone toe-to-toe with Lillard, Devin Booker, Khris Middleton and Jayson Tatum for long stretches.
Ball ranks No. 5 among all players in the BBall Index matchup difficulty metric, which measures the offensive impact and usage rate of players defended by certain people around the league. The guys above Ball on this list are considered some of the elite wing defenders in the NBA.
| PLAYER | TEAM | MINUTES | MATCHUP DIFFICULTY | GUARDED USG% | GUARDED O-LEBRON |
| Luguentz Dort | Thunder | 926 | 99.9 | 23.4 | 1.31 |
| Mikal Bridges | Suns | 1,011 | 99.9 | 23 | 1.27 |
| Gary Harris | Nuggets | 581 | 99.7 | 22.9 | 1.12 |
| Royce O'Neale | Jazz | 1,041 | 99.6 | 23 | 1.09 |
| Lonzo Ball | Pelicans | 881 | 99.5 | 23.4 | 1.06 |
| Patrick Beverley | Clippers | 556 | 99.5 | 22.2 | 1.06 |
| Dorian Finney-Smith | Mavericks | 653 | 98.6 | 21.4 | 0.89 |
| Cam Reddish | Hawks | 750 | 98.2 | 22.8 | 0.84 |
| Elfrid Payton | Knicks | 896 | 98.2 | 22.3 | 0.84 |
| Derrick Jones Jr. | Blazers | 732 | 97.8 | 22.6 | 0.8 |
The results have been up and down for Ball in these situations, but the fact that he’s been able to hold his own has been promising.
Going into next season, maybe the idea of a Lewis-Ball starting backcourt isn’t so crazy after all, especially considering how much pressure Ball could take off Lewis on the defensive end. Having Ball and Josh Hart as viable options against just about anyone on the perimeter should make life much easier on Lewis as he eases his way into what we assume will be a more prominent role next season.
Some fans mocked the idea that Van Gundy has thrown out in the past of Ball being a 3-and-D type of player in half-court situations, but it’s looking like he’s slowly getting more comfortable with that role. If his on-ball defense continues to improve, it could be a game changer for New Orleans.
“He’s done a very good job, and he’s defended points guards through small forwards, he’s defended guys who run off screens, he’s defended penetrators and pick-and-roll guys,” Van Gundy said. “He’s defended a lot of different type of people for us, and that’s been important.”
Hart’s place in this story is relevant because he’s also set to hit restricted free agency next offseason. And as pivotal as Ball has been lately, retaining Hart and everything he brings to the table could be just as important for New Orleans.
But how much are the Pelicans willing to spend to keep their core intact?
Suppose Ball and Hart end up costing somewhere around $35 million to $40 million next season. Would that be a wise way for New Orleans to use its limited cap space with Ingram, Williamson, Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe already accounting for somewhere around $75 million in salary?
Would it be worth giving Ball the money he wants if it means letting Hart walk?
Assuming Ball stays healthy, he will demand a big deal in the offseason, even if he can’t keep up what he’s done over the past month. Here are other top point guards who are expected to be on the market once free agency starts this summer:
- Chris Paul
- Mike Conley
- Kyle Lowry
- Goran Dragic
- Dennis Schröder
All of those guys older than 30, except for Schröder, who is 27. Maybe two of them will be realistically available, and it’ll be a struggle for New Orleans to create the cap space needed to give them the kind of deals they’ll be seeking.
Is it worth the risk to let Ball walk and hope one of those guys is willing to take his place? Is New Orleans confident enough in Lewis and his growth so far to hand the keys to the offense to him in Year 2?
Then again, with Ball playing this well, maybe a team like Chicago or New York would be more willing to fork over real assets to get him in the building and make sure it’s in the driver’s seat when it comes time for him to sign his next deal.
These are all questions the Pelicans front office will have to answer in the next three weeks as the trade deadline approaches. It’s hard enough for NBA front offices to acquire the talented young assets New Orleans has throughout its roster.
The job becomes even more complicated when it’s time to figure out how to keep all those young players in the building.
Some guys make it easy on their general managers by proving their worth as max contract candidates. Others make it obvious the franchise should move on once their deal is done.
For the New Orleans Pelicans, Lonzo Ball falls somewhere in the middle.
He hasn’t shown the kind of All-Star potential that would make it easy for New Orleans to throw a boatload of cash at him when he hits restricted free agency next offseason. But it’s not like letting him walk would be an easy decision, either.
Through the first month of the season, Ball looked like he was making the Pelicans’ decision for them.
After a disappointing showing in the NBA bubble, Ball carried his subpar play over to the start of the 2020-21 season and looked lost. His shots weren’t falling, his fit within Stan Van Gundy’s offense was unclear, and the rumblings about him by the Pels fan base were louder than ever.
It took only 34 days after the season started before our own Shams Charania started reporting that New Orleans was open to listening to offers for one of the primary players they received in the blockbuster Anthony Davis trade.
After selecting Kira Lewis Jr. with the No. 13 pick in the 2020 draft, the Pelicans appeared to be starting to prepare for life without Ball. Then, the version of Ball whom New Orleans fell in love with before the pandemic hit came back to life.
The team advised the 23-year-old to sit three games in January to rehab an ailing knee and switch up some of his training methods to prevent the issue from recurring. Once he returned to the lineup, he hasn’t looked back.
In his past 16 games, Ball is averaging 16.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists while posting 47/47/84 shooting splits. He’s gone from looking like the odd man out to an essential part in the team’s mini-turnaround over the past month.
With the trade deadline coming up in less than a month, the pressure is on for New Orleans to decide whether Ball is part of its future or if the team needs to move forward and cash in on him as an asset while they still have the opportunity.
“He got healthy. I think that was a big part of it,” Van Gundy said. “He’s shooting the ball really well. I think he’s playing more aggressively offensively, trying to get into the paint more. (He’s) pushing the ball faster in transition, not just throwing it ahead. That’s all been good.
“He’s playing at a very, very high level, and we need that.”
It wasn’t that shocking to see Ball’s 3-point shooting improve from the dismal 28.6 percent mark he shot in the first 11 games. This is the same guy who shot 37.5 percent from deep last season.
But Ball hasn’t improved just his shooting from deep. He’s also looked like one of the elite shooters in the NBA over the past month. Since returning from his knee injury, the Pelicans point guard has converted on 69 of his 157 attempts (43.9 percent) from deep. The only players with more 3s than Ball during that stretch are Stephen Curry (106), Malik Beasley (83) and Damian Lillard (72).
That’s some decent company.
Ball’s ability to take and make 3s at a high volume has become even more critical with the increased ballhandling responsibilities Van Gundy has given to Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram within his offense.
Per Cleaning the Glass, 56 percent of Ball’s shots last year came on 3-pointers, a career high for him. This year, he’s up to 61 percent of his shots coming from deep, and it’s ticked up slightly to 63 percent since his return from injury.
Yes, his offensive game would be much more complete if he drove to the rim a little more and forced defenses to put him on the free-throw line. But spacing will be the key in an offense built around Williamson and Ingram. Ball is looking like the type of guard who can thrive in that environment.
“I didn’t really change much, just started making sure I got square on all my shots,” Ball said of his improved shooting. “The biggest thing was just shooting it with confidence and trusting all the work I put in.”
Above all, two questions need to be answered about anyone who has plans to be in New Orleans for the long term: How do you fit next Williamson? And how can you make Williamson better?
The jump Ball has made as a shooter provides an obvious answer to both questions, but he also brings an added element to their partnership.
From the moment Ball and Williamson started playing together last year, there’s been an obvious connection between them. It’s similar to what we’ve seen from great guard-forward pairings in the past, like Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin or Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire.
It’s not like that special connection is required for success — we’ve seen Williamson make plenty of outstanding plays without any help. But finding someone who’s always on the same wavelength with your best scorer and knows how to get him the ball in advantageous positions isn’t something you can just find in free agency or the draft.
Look at these two plays Ball and Williamson made in the first quarter of Thursday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
These probably aren’t plays they worked on in practice or talked about in the huddle. There are at least two or three times every game when Ball feels an opening coming for Williamson and immediately throws the ball where it needs to be for the big man to make a play.
In Williamson’s 55 career games, Ball has picked up an assist on 113 of his 517 field goals. That’s basically one out of every five baskets made by the All-Star forward coming off a pass by Ball. Williamson’s other teammates aren’t even close. And that’s not even accounting for all the times Ball’s passes have led to free throws for the phenom forward.
Williamson has enough talent to be dominant with just about anyone you put around him. Still, having a guard like Ball with a special knack for making magical plays with the 2019 No. 1 overall pick has to give him added value.
“Me and Lonzo, our games complement each other so well. There times when me and Lonzo are just playing basketball out there,” Williamson said. “When we’re out there, we’re both giving each other confidence, telling each other to shoot, (saying) that we trust each other to make the right decision in the situation.”
Even though those opportunities haven’t come as often as in the past, Ball has done a much better job lately of pushing the pace and getting New Orleans into early offense.
Early in the season, one of the biggest issues was how much the Pels were walking the ball up on offense and going against set defenses.
As of late, Ball has been getting the offense going at a much faster pace, and it’s given Williamson and Ingram more easy opportunities.
Playing with that frantic pace has always been a core part of Ball’s identity, but there was always a level of recklessness that sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t. It was easy to see how much that side of his game annoyed Van Gundy, who would throw his hands up in disgust whenever Ball would miss one of his touchdown passes to Williamson from the opposite side of the court.
Ball has cleaned up some of those careless turnovers, and he’s gone from averaging 2.6 giveaways in the first 11 games to 1.8 in his past 18. He’s gone from averaging 3.1 turnovers last year to 2.1 this season. If that mark holds, it would be the lowest of his career.
“I feel like I’ve got the ball a lot in the offense, especially early on in the games. (I’m) making plays to open up the defense for us,” Ball said. “I’m just trying to take those gaps and get out in transition more, play a little faster than I have in the past.”
Ball’s defensive impact has also made a big jump, as he’s taken over a big chunk of the responsibilities left over after the departure of all-world defender Jrue Holiday.
The Pelicans guard has been a solid defender for most of his career because of his activity away from the ball and his ability to read plays and jump passing lanes. This season, he’s been called upon to take on more individual matchups against some of the league’s top perimeter scorers.
In the past five games alone, he’s gone toe-to-toe with Lillard, Devin Booker, Khris Middleton and Jayson Tatum for long stretches.
Ball ranks No. 5 among all players in the BBall Index matchup difficulty metric, which measures the offensive impact and usage rate of players defended by certain people around the league. The guys above Ball on this list are considered some of the elite wing defenders in the NBA.
| PLAYER | TEAM | MINUTES | MATCHUP DIFFICULTY | GUARDED USG% | GUARDED O-LEBRON |
| Luguentz Dort | Thunder | 926 | 99.9 | 23.4 | 1.31 |
| Mikal Bridges | Suns | 1,011 | 99.9 | 23 | 1.27 |
| Gary Harris | Nuggets | 581 | 99.7 | 22.9 | 1.12 |
| Royce O'Neale | Jazz | 1,041 | 99.6 | 23 | 1.09 |
| Lonzo Ball | Pelicans | 881 | 99.5 | 23.4 | 1.06 |
| Patrick Beverley | Clippers | 556 | 99.5 | 22.2 | 1.06 |
| Dorian Finney-Smith | Mavericks | 653 | 98.6 | 21.4 | 0.89 |
| Cam Reddish | Hawks | 750 | 98.2 | 22.8 | 0.84 |
| Elfrid Payton | Knicks | 896 | 98.2 | 22.3 | 0.84 |
| Derrick Jones Jr. | Blazers | 732 | 97.8 | 22.6 | 0.8 |
The results have been up and down for Ball in these situations, but the fact that he’s been able to hold his own has been promising.
Going into next season, maybe the idea of a Lewis-Ball starting backcourt isn’t so crazy after all, especially considering how much pressure Ball could take off Lewis on the defensive end. Having Ball and Josh Hart as viable options against just about anyone on the perimeter should make life much easier on Lewis as he eases his way into what we assume will be a more prominent role next season.
Some fans mocked the idea that Van Gundy has thrown out in the past of Ball being a 3-and-D type of player in half-court situations, but it’s looking like he’s slowly getting more comfortable with that role. If his on-ball defense continues to improve, it could be a game changer for New Orleans.
“He’s done a very good job, and he’s defended points guards through small forwards, he’s defended guys who run off screens, he’s defended penetrators and pick-and-roll guys,” Van Gundy said. “He’s defended a lot of different type of people for us, and that’s been important.”
Hart’s place in this story is relevant because he’s also set to hit restricted free agency next offseason. And as pivotal as Ball has been lately, retaining Hart and everything he brings to the table could be just as important for New Orleans.
But how much are the Pelicans willing to spend to keep their core intact?
Suppose Ball and Hart end up costing somewhere around $35 million to $40 million next season. Would that be a wise way for New Orleans to use its limited cap space with Ingram, Williamson, Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe already accounting for somewhere around $75 million in salary?
Would it be worth giving Ball the money he wants if it means letting Hart walk?
Assuming Ball stays healthy, he will demand a big deal in the offseason, even if he can’t keep up what he’s done over the past month. Here are other top point guards who are expected to be on the market once free agency starts this summer:
- Chris Paul
- Mike Conley
- Kyle Lowry
- Goran Dragic
- Dennis Schröder
All of those guys older than 30, except for Schröder, who is 27. Maybe two of them will be realistically available, and it’ll be a struggle for New Orleans to create the cap space needed to give them the kind of deals they’ll be seeking.
Is it worth the risk to let Ball walk and hope one of those guys is willing to take his place? Is New Orleans confident enough in Lewis and his growth so far to hand the keys to the offense to him in Year 2?
Then again, with Ball playing this well, maybe a team like Chicago or New York would be more willing to fork over real assets to get him in the building and make sure it’s in the driver’s seat when it comes time for him to sign his next deal.
These are all questions the Pelicans front office will have to answer in the next three weeks as the trade deadline approaches. It’s hard enough for NBA front offices to acquire the talented young assets New Orleans has throughout its roster.
The job becomes even more complicated when it’s time to figure out how to keep all those young players in the building.
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