New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball reportedly has the New York Knicks on his "radar" as he prepares to become a restricted free agent this offseason.
Marc Berman of the New York Post reported Saturday the Knicks are also a preferred destination for Ball's father, LaVar, who'd like to have "all his sons on Broadway."
The Toronto Raptors' Kyle Lowry, an impending unrestricted free agent, is another potential option at the point since he's "wanted to be a Knick" in the past, per Berman.
Ball is coming off the most complete season of his four-year NBA career after averaging a career-high 14.6 points along with 5.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals across 55 appearances for the Pelicans. While he shot just 41.4 percent from the field, he knocked down a rock-solid 37.8 percent of his threes.
His improvement at both ends of the floor allowed him to rank third among all point guards in ESPN's real plus-minus behind only the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry and Portland Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard.
While New Orleans will have the opportunity to match any offer sheet Ball receives in free agency, his outspoken father has made it clear he'd like his son to get a fresh start elsewhere since before the NBA trade deadline in March.
LaVar said during an appearance on ESPN Radio (via Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News) leading up to the deadline his son "can't stay in New Orleans" because of how the franchise changed his role.
"Lonzo has always been a playmaker. Why are you trying to change him into a defensive specialist to stay in the corner and shoot threes?" LaVar said. "And you're trying to change Zion [Williamson] and Brandon Ingram, who all throughout their career have never been playmakers? They're scorers. Now you want to put the ball in their hand? C'mon man."
It's unclear whether his opinion could change once the Pelicans hire a new head coach after the firing of Stan Van Gundy at season's end, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see New Orleans shake up its roster after falling well short of expectations with a 31-41 record.
Meanwhile, the question when it comes to Lowry is whether the Knicks are the right fit for a 35-year-old six-time All-Star who'll likely be hunting championships during the latter stages of his career.
"He's better suited for a title contender—and that's not the Knicks," an NBA source told Berman.
That said, Lowry averaged 17.2 points, 7.3 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 threes in 46 games for the Raptors this season and would represent a major short-term upgrade for New York at the point.
The Knicks have been searching for an offensive general for years, and it's once again the top priority after a year where the team made a lot of progress, led by Julius Randle. The good news for the front office is that there are no shortage of options this summer either via trade, free agency or the draft.
"ball" - Google News
June 27, 2021 at 09:41PM
https://ift.tt/35V2oAz
Knicks Rumors: Lonzo Ball Has NYK on His Radar; Kyle Lowry Once Wanted to Be with NYK - Bleacher Report
"ball" - Google News
https://ift.tt/39CKzGV
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment