LOS ANGELES_Lonzo Ball's first outing as LeBron James' Lakers teammate will come under the bright lights of Las Vegas against the NBA's defending champion Golden State Warriors in an exhibition game Wednesday.
That's not what Ball says he's focusing on, though. He's just happy he gets to play basketball again.
"It is going to be very fun," Ball said. "The way they play, the way we play, be a lot of up and down, a lot of shots to be taken, just fun basketball."
Ball hasn't played a competitive game since March. He was close to making his exhibition debut Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers, but he and the Lakers opted to be safe and give him a few more days.
Ball finally will have a chance Wednesday to start developing some on-court chemistry with his teammates. In particular, he and the Lakers will get a better view of how he will interact with James on the court.
"We'll (be) playing fast," Ball said. "I'll be getting the ball to (James) a lot, he can do the same, get out and push it so that will be a very interesting dynamic."
Ball will come off the bench and Rajon Rondo will still start Wednesday. It's possible that Rondo, who started in 63 of the 65 games in which he played last season with the New Orleans Pelicans, will remain the Lakers starter into the regular season. The Lakers play their opener Oct. 18.
Asked whether he wants Ball to feel like he's competing for the starting job, coach Luke Walton said he wants everyone to feel that way.
"It's nice because they're both selfless, playmaking guards that make their teammates better," Walton said about the two point guards. "Those are the type of guys we want on the floor. ... Most of the time we'll have at least one of those types of guys at the point and is a big plus for us."
