The Los Angeles Lakers have officially missed the playoffs for the sixth straight year. They will head into the offseason filled with a lot of question marks once again, and one of them is the future of second-year point guard Lonzo Ball.
For the past two seasons, Ball has been hit with injuries that would cause him to miss more than a month, and with said injuries mostly affecting his lower body area, particularly his knees and ankles, the Lakers believe that these injuries might have something to do with the shoes he's wearing.
Ball, 2017's second overall pick, has been sporting sneakers from Big Baller Brand, a sports merchandise company that he and his family have co-founded. In Ramona Shelburne and Paula Lavigne's story for ESPN, Lonzo himself admitted that the Lakers expressed concerns about the ZO2s being among the causes of his injuries.
“Yeah, they talked to me. They asked me about it, and I told 'em, ‘I feel comfortable. If I wasn't comfortable, I wouldn't play in 'em. If I didn't play in [his signature BBB shoes], I'd play in Kobe [Bryant's signature Nike shoe]. I work out in [LeBron James' signature Nike shoe], but that's because they're heavier.”
Lonzo added that if the Lakers feel the necessity to make adjustments with his signature sneakers, he's willing to cooperate.
The Lakers' concerns seem reasonable, especially since they once saw Ball as the centerpiece of the championship team they're trying to build. However, if he continues to suffer from injuries, then the purple and gold might feel the need to finally move on from that idea — if they haven't already.
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