It’s been a hectic past couple of months for Lonzo Ball, to say the least. Not only was he the subject of trade rumors throughout his sophomore season with the Los Angeles Lakers, but he also discovered that his longtime family friend and Big Baller Brand business parter Alan Foster was allegedly stealing money from him.
Luckily for Ball, he had the support of his teammates during that tough time, especially LeBron James. During an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” on Monday, former Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson said that James and Ball grew closer as a result of the unfortunate Foster situation:
That’s not gon’ happen … This guy is special. He has helped our young players so much. He’s made Kyle Kuzma better, Brandon Ingram better. The way he approaches the game and practices, every player now is like, ‘Wow, I need to get better.’ And I’ll tell you who he really took aside: Lonzo Ball.
He’s been a great influence on Lonzo. When that thing went down with his agent or the guy that was running their business, I should say, (his) first call was LeBron James (and he) sat down with Lonzo.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Ball and James grew closer after Ball fired Foster. Last month, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported that James and Ball had gotten “much closer” since Ball and Foster’s fallout. Ball also confirmed that he and James didn’t get close until after the NBA trade deadline on James’ HBO talk show “The Shop.”
Does that guarantee that Ball won’t be shipped to New Orleans for James’ fellow Klutch Sports client Anthony Davis? Maybe not, but it’s clear that Ball has the support of James and that means something regardless of whether or not Ball will remain in Los Angeles.
Hopefully the two can translate their off-the-court kinship to the hardwood and lead the Lakers to their first playoff berth in six years next season.
