Kevin Durant made headlines in December when he called the environment around LeBron James “toxic,” fueling speculation that the Los Angeles Lakers could miss out on signing one of the league's top free agents this summer.
The Golden State Warriors superstar wasn't decrying his friend and Los Angeles Lakers counterpart personally, to be clear, but conveying his belief that the fan and media circus inevitably following James creates an uncomfortable working atmosphere. While Durant, a teammate of James' with Team USA at the 2012 Olympics, doesn't have much first-hand knowledge of that possible dynamic, his critique, though unnecessary, is at least somewhat defensible nonetheless.
Don't tell that to Lonzo Ball, however. During an interview with reporters on Wednesday, amid organizational turmoil in the wake of Magic Johnson's abrupt departure, the sophomore guard pushed back on Durant's suggestion that playing with James is “toxic.”
“It was a dream come true for me. It was everything I thought it would be,” Ball said, per ClutchPoints' Ryan Ward. “Not only a great basketball player but just a person. Looked at him like a big brother. Obviously, his IQ is off the charts, so he's not hard to play with at all.”
Ball appeared in just 47 games this season before being sidelined for good on January 19th after suffering a bone bruise in his left ankle. He made more subtle improvements than notable ones in 2018-19, averaging 9.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game while upping his still ugly true shooting percentage from 44.4 to 48.7, sparked by increased effectiveness at the rim and beyond the arc.
The Lakers, 37-45 this season, had a +3.1 net rating when James and Ball shared the court, second-best on the team among highly-used tandems.
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