Since Lonzo Ball was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 2 overall pick in 2017, he’s only had one head coach: Luke Walton. However, after it was announced that the Lakers and Walton had mutually agreed to part ways, Ball will be playing under someone new next season and it might be to his benefit.
While Ball and Walton never had a public feud or anything of that nature, it became evident from early on that Walton didn’t trust Ball as much as he trusted veteran point guard Rajon Rondo in fourth quarters situations.
Through 40 games with the Lakers, Ball averaged 6.9 minutes per game in the fourth quarter, almost a whole minutes less than Rondo, who averaged 7.6 minutes per game. It would have made sense if Rondo was the clear-cut option for Walton to turn to in clutch situations, but he wasn’t.
Ball may have averaged less points in the fourth quarter, but he made his shots at a higher percentage from both the field and behind the 3-point line. He also posted a significantly higher net rating than Rondo.
Here’s how the two matched up in fourth quarter situations, per NBA.com:
| PLAYER | MIN | PTS | FG% | AST | REB | +/- | NET RTG |
| Rondo | 7.6 | 2.2 | 41.6% | 1.6 | 1.5 | -0.1 | -6.7 |
| Ball | 6.9 | 1.9 | 45.9% | 1.0 | 1.2 | -1.1 | -2.0 |
No, Ball wasn’t “Mr. Clutch” in the fourth quarter by any means, but he was the better option between the two points guards on both ends of the floor. The fact that Walton didn’t play him more is puzzling, but now Ball — in his third year — will have an opportunity to prove himself to a new coach.
So far, the Lakers have reportedly been linked to former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue and Philadelphia 76ers assists Monty Williams. Both coaches have experience grooming young point guards, as Williams coached Chris Paul during his time in New Orleans and Lue coached All-Star Kyrie Irving for three seasons.
If Ball comes back from his first fully offseason a noticeably improved player, there’s a good chance his next coach will trust him to have the ball in his hands more. This past season, Ball had the fifth-lowest usage percentage (13 percent) on the team. For context, LeBron James led the team at 38.6 percent.
Maybe Ball and Walton didn’t bump heads during their time together, but Walton’s departure could be what Ball needs to jump-start his Lakers career.
