I just pray Magic Johnson takes Ball .
Why would he do that? Take one of the other players and sign Ball when he comes running to LA when his rookie deals up
Because Ball cant/wont "run to LA" following his rookie year.
Not drafting a player because you will have a marginal advantage to sign him as a FA in 9 years would be mindbogglingly stupid.
Remember when Laker fan Paul Pierce bolted to the Lakers after his rookie contract?
how about Demar Derozan? wasnt Westbrook supposed to be a Laker by now?
everybody and their brother is "going to bolt to LA" then [dang] near all of them dont.
This year the Laker allure got them Mozgov and Deng.
sick.
Which of those players you mentioned had a Lavar Ball? Who's more concerned with marketing than his sons play in the tournament? Is crowbarring his sons to UCLA? Oh and he came out and practically told teams not named LA to draft his son.
It may seem dumb but if Magic Johnson is looking at his draft board and he doesn't see any kind of separation between Fultz and Ball, why take Ball if you know there's even a small chance you could have him anyway down the road?