NBA Draft 2017 Prospect Watch: Lonzo Ball

Weaknesses

Some will argue whether or not having your dad argue with Stephen A. Smith on First Take is a good thing. We’ll have to see how that ends up playing out.

Joking aside, having a father who spends his day looking for microphones to talk into about how his son is better than Steph Curry, or about wanting a $1 billion shoe contract for the family, is a red flag. At least, I think it is. Time will tell.

But if a team like the Orlando Magic are on the board, there will undoubtedly be questions regarding how long until Lonzo Ball will try to escape to Los Angeles too.

In regards to on the court, there are some things – one in particular – that stand out. Of course I’m talking about his “unique” shooting form.

You can make a good argument that shooting 55.1 percent from the field (41.2 percent from behind the three-point line) should silence any haters trying to change the young prospect’s form. The problem, however, is that his long and odd wind-up limits his ability to be more effective putting the ball in the basket.

In catch-and-shoot situations, Ball is a great scorer. The extra second or so he takes to set up his shot, however, effects his offensive ceiling; because of his awkward and timely form, he has difficulty shooting off the dribble while being closely-blanketed by a defender.

Now imagine Ball trying to manufacture a shot with an NBA-level defender on top on top of him. NBA coaches are smart and will no doubt structure their defense on him accordingly.

In addition to that, Ball will need to add some muscle. He was able to make up for his lack of weight and strength due to his height while at UCLA, but it’s unlikely a lanky 6-foot-6 guard won’t run into a few problems against NBA competition.