National Basketball Association

Here's how Lonzo Ball could make the Lakers a playoff team overnight

Published Mar. 8, 2017 8:50 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

LaVar Ball isn't backing down from his claim that his son, UCLA freshman and potential No. 1 NBA draft pick Lonzo Ball, is already better than Stephen Curry.

In fact, on this week's episode of the In The Zone basketball podcast with Chris Broussard, the elder Ball explained why he's perfectly comfortable putting that oversized target on Lonzo's back — and that's not all. LaVar also revealed why he believes Lonzo could be better than even Michael Jordan, why he purposely made Lonzo's high school teams worse, and why all three of his sons will be one-and-dones in college.

Oh, and LaVar also broke down how the Lakers could become a playoff team overnight by picking Ball in this year's draft (if they're lucky enough to keep their pick, of course):

CHRIS: "So you’ve said you want him to go to the Lakers. If he’s on the Lakers next year, how good are they? … Playoffs?"

LAVAR: "Yeah. I would have to say playoffs the first year. Because what would happen is, with the team that they have, Lonzo could let D’Angelo go right back to his two-spot, which is scoring the ball. What he did for Montverde and for Ohio State — he wasn’t designated point guard. He’d throw some nice passes, wasn’t no pressure on him to run no team. Just do what you do when you could.

"They need to change Brandon Ingram into a slasher, where that boy can get out on that wing and get that ball to him early, and he’s playing one-on-one. I feel like Lonzo is the only one that can pretty much run what Luke Walton wants to do, and that’s why I think it’s a perfect fit. And I like the fact that Magic has just gotten there."

You'll definitely want to give this wide-ranging conversation a listen; by the end of the podcast, Ball will have you believing you have the strength to run through a brick wall.

And there's more where that came from. Broussard also details how sunny days are just around the corner for the Lakers with or without Ball. So head over to iTunes to subscribe, give a five-star rating, and leave a review for the In The Zone basketball podcast.