The Boston Celtics may be the only team Lonzo Ball decides to straight-up troll. After the Celtics announced they had been informed Ball wouldn’t work out for them, a report surfaced shortly thereafter that he would still consider working out for other teams besides his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, who had previously been the only team he had been talking with.
We now know the first team Ball is discussing a workout with besides Los Angeles. Chris Haynes of ESPN reported Thursday that Ball is “considering” going in for a workout with Philadelphia, although Haynes adds there is “concern” from Ball’s camp about the Sixers “plan to feature forward Ben Simmons, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, in a ball dominant, point-forward role next season.”
The Sixers dearth of ballhanders essentially ensures they’ll need Simmons to play on the ball a ton next season, a problem Ball might not have as much in Los Angeles.
The Lakers boast multiple players with ballhandling skills, but none the organization seems committed to putting the ball in the hands of all of the time after their experiment with D’Angelo Russell off of the ball went so well last season.
Still, Ball even considering a workout with Philadelphia shows he’s not a real Laker and they shouldn’t draft him that his camp is at least open to the possibility that Los Angeles (who reportedly hasn’t decided who they’ll draft) might not select him. That’s a notable development, albeit a small one.
Harrison Faigen is co-host of the Locked on Lakers podcast (subscribe here), and you can follow him on Twitter at @hmfaigen.