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Lakers Draft Rumors: Multiple sources say Lonzo Ball ‘has not had great pre-draft workouts’

There is context, but it’s still not ideal for Ball.

NBA Prospect Lonzo Ball Los Angeles Lakers Workout - Media Availability Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

With a little over a week left to go before the 2017 NBA Draft, we’ve reached the point in the summer when it’s time for anonymous sources to pick apart players’ workouts.

This year it’s Lonzo Ball’s turn, with a report surfacing Sunday that the Los Angeles Lakers thought Ball looked “out of shape” during his workout. David Aldridge of NBA.com seemed to confirm that report Monday morning, when he wrote that “a few sources tell me that Ball has not had great pre-Draft workouts.”

None of this is surprising. As various teams and agents try to get the players they want at this time of year, there are always going to be these types of leaks. The best thing to do to stay sane during the silly season is to remember that every leak has a motivation, this stuff almost never happens on accident.

That being said, two separate reports of Ball not looking great in his workouts isn’t necessarily a great look for him after how much bombast his family entered the draft process with. Both reports offered context that Ball shouldn’t be expected to look great in a one-on-one workout, and there is also the fact that he might have had his conditioning set back by a late-season hamstring injury, but it’s still not ideal that he went into potentially the biggest job interviews in his life looking (reportedly) less than his best.

All of this still doesn’t really mean anything until June 22, when we’ll know what reports about the Lakers’ interest were smoke, and which were fire.

Here is an updating list of every player the Lakers have worked out or met with. Harrison Faigen is co-host of the Locked on Lakers podcast (subscribe here, or listen to our latest episode with more context on Ball’s workouts below), and you can follow him on Twitter at @hmfaigen.

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