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New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball is only in his third season in the NBA, but longtime center Kendrick Perkins is already labeling him as a “bust.”
Perkins questioned the Los Angeles Lakers' advanced scouting when they selected him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft:
Kendrick Perkins on why he says Lonzo Ball is a bust: "You drafted a guy number 2 because he does outlet passes and gives up the ball early?" 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
— William E. Ketchum III (@WEKetchum) December 20, 2019
Perkins essentially stated that what you see is what you get with Ball during an appearance on ESPN's “The Jump,” and that he has earned the “bust” label because he has not produced up to the standards of a No. 2 pick. The full clip is below:
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Although Perkins' colleagues–ESPN NBA Senior Writer Zach Lowe and Hall of Fame forward Scottie Pippen–did not necessarily agree with Perkins' assessment of Ball as a bust, they did have some interesting perspectives on his value with respect to this Pelicans team.
Lowe asserted that Ball will have little impact on the game once Zion Williamson returns, as New Orleans have been quite comfortable utilizing Brandon Ingram as a point forward and playing big when necessary. In fact, Ball has mostly been coming off the bench as of late, though Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry insisted that it was more about matchups than Ball's performance.
Ball has struggled to gain a foothold in his third season. The former UCLA star is averaging 10.0 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds, and he has yet to make a tangible leap in production.
Of course, not even the most sensational of individual transformations could help New Orleans save their season. The Pelicans had lost 13 in a row prior to Wednesday's win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, and at 7-22 have all but eliminated themselves from contention.
