Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson is optimistic about Lonzo Ball's future with the team. After Ball put together an impressive, albeit abbreviated, rookie campaign, Johnson feels that Lonzo is ready to take another step forward.
For the 20-year-old point guard, Magic is a great person to have in his corner. According to Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet, Johnson and Ball recently broke down film together to help advance Ball's game. Johnson expects to see a more aggressive player in his second year.
Johnson didn't stop there when discussing his 6-foot-6 point guard with Bresnahan.
“If you look at his body now, it’s completely different from last season.”
Lonzo's changing body should come as no surprise. At 20 years old, Ball is still incredibly young and he still has time to fill out his frame and grow stronger. He's already a good rebounder and his increased muscle mass should make him even more of a force on the glass.
Magic also mentioned that he would like to see Ball play in upwards of 70 games next season. Ball only played in 52 games during his rookie season after dealing with a number of injuries. But despite only playing in 52 games, the rookie played well enough to warrant a selection to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
Despite needing significant work on his jumper, Ball showed encouraging signs this season. The Lakers are poised to make a big turnaround next season depending on how free agency shakes out. Regardless of who will be playing alongside him, Ball's development is going to be one of the keys for the Lakers moving forward.