When the Los Angeles Lakes selected Lonzo Ball second overall in last June’s draft, it was clear that they see him as a good fit to them and is their point guard of the future. They also have a lot of expectations on him, including their front office executives, president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka.

The two apparently met recently to discuss their observations about how their team fared in the first half of the regular season. Pelinka then shared, via Spectrum SportsNet, that they want Ball to evolve into a vocal leader for them in the coming years.

“We talked about the next big thing for him that we would love to see him develop is vocal leadership. And I think that’s a challenge. He’s got the respect of his teammates, because he plays so unselfishly. Guys love to play with him. So now if Lonzo can take what he’s done in terms of his teammates trust him because he’s an unselfish player, and he can become a vocal leader like Tom Brady, a great quarterback. Like Magic was, he was so vocal as the point-guard leader of the Lakers. That’s what we’re challenging him to do, and I think we’ve seen some of that. He’s definitely been speaking up more around the guys. We love to see that growth and progression.”

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Ball may be injured right now but when he’s healthy, he has showed off his unique skill set on the floor. Even with his shooting woes, he has continued to contribute in different ways for the Lakers, particularly in rebounding and dishing out assists to his teammates. In 36 games, the former UCLA star is averaging 10.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.5 steals in 33.9 minutes. He is also an underrated defender who knows how to get to the passing lanes and disrupt the offense of their opponents.

If he continues his development, Ball definitely has what it takes to be a star in the league someday. With the guidance of Johnson and Pelinka, coupled with the coaching staff and his veteran teammates, he is being set up for success and could learn how to be more vocal as he gains more experience, which will make him an even more important part of the Lakers’ future plans.