It’s clear now that the Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe backcourt is a disaster and cannot exist if the pelicans hope to maximize the potential of their roster. In theory, Lonzo and Zion Williamson are the dream connection filled with highlight lobs, passes, and dunks in the open court. But the reality of this pelicans team is that they currently rank 22nd out of 30th in pace and currently Plagued with spacing issues. Limiting what Lonzo does best as a player.
Although some of that blame goes to Lonzo, whose three-point Shot has disappeared this season negating any progress he has made from past seasons going from .375% on 6 attempts per game now down to .301% on 7 Attempts per game. And Lonzo has shown no signs of becoming an improved free-throw shooter, causing him to be averse to any contact under the rim as he is currently taking an unsurprisingly 13% of his shots within three feet of the rim.
The Pelicans are reportedly open to shopping Lonzo. These three teams will allow him to become the player he was hyped to be as the 2nd pick of the 2017 NBA draft class.
Lonzo is Exactly what the Clippers need
The clippers are off to a hot start this season currently 14-5 2nd in the western conference standings hoping to claim their first conference championship appearance this season. With offseason additions like Luke Kennard, Serge Ibaka, and Nicolas Batum they seemed prime to make that push.
As Trey Daubert wrote almost a year ago we and saw play out During the Denver/clippers series as they were embarrassingly dismissed from the playoffs in key part due to their lack of ball distributing and playmaking down the stretch of games. Currently their guards Patrick Beverley, Reggie Jackson, and Lou Williams currently all average under 3apg which spells disaster for a team we saw implode due to a lack of a true facilitator.
Lonzo averages 6.5apg for his career and on this clipper roster filled with play finishers and not playmakers he would see immediate success. While lessening the burden on Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to make plays for others.
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are off to a slow 8-10 start currently 12th in the western conference standings. This Slow start may be caused by missing their star player Kristaps Porzingis for the first ten games as he was recovering from the Lateral meniscus injury of his right knee suffered in last season’s first-round playoffs.
Possibly the other reason for the slow start is that as currently constructed everything in Dallas’s offense currently runs through their superstar, Luka Doncic. Almost to the detriment of the team, While they see great results boasting a 114.5 Offensive rating with Luka on the court. When Luka sits it craters to a 101.9 good for 30th in the league.
Bringing Lonzo into the fold will provide some much-needed consistency and guidance to the offense when Luka isn’t on the court. With stretch bigs like Maxi Kleber, Kristaps Porzingis, and rim-runners such as Dwight Powell & Willie Cauley-Stein, Lonzo would thrive in transition with this Dallas Mavericks team.
Pheonix Suns
The Pheonix Suns are off to a respectable 9-8 start to the season currently 7th in the western conference standings. Looking to build on the success they found as a team going 8-0 during their Bubble run to finish last season. While also hoping to crack a playoff berth for the first time since the 2009-2010 season.
With the offseason addition of Chris Paul, it looks as if the Suns are ready to make some serious noise in the western conference. Adding Lonzo ball to this team allows them to improve the current state of their roster. While also allowing Lonzo like Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, last year to learn from the point god himself i.e Chris paul, which will benefit the future outlook of the team whether Chris decides to retire or move on to another team.
