Buzz City to Ball City

- Dawson Haywood

The Ball family has been in the spotlight since before Lonzo graduated from high school in 2016. We have watched Lavar and his antics since the family came into the spotlight and before any of the brothers were in the league what their career would look like was a big question mark. Lavar had always been very bold when talking about his sons and sometimes said things and made predictions that seemed so far out there that it made the expectations for the Ball boys high. 

The expectations for the Ball brothers I would say have been met, if not exceeded at this point in their careers. We always knew that Lamelo was the most gifted of the three athletically and Lonzo had the competitive drive to make a solid impact on any team. Lonzo is still slept on because he was not an All-Star in his years with the Lakers, but seems to be heading in that direction. We all could have figured that if there was one brother that would not make it to the league it would be Liangelo, and I firmly believe he is not playing basketball today because of Lavar's comments on the Pistons' organization once he was cut. 

Lavar is no doubt the bold one in the family but we don't hear much from any of the brothers themselves. One thing has been evident since Lonzo and Lamelo have been in the league... they are there to play ball and win games. Lonzo has started in 94% of the games he has appeared in since entering the league and has performed about as well as you could expect a 23 year old to. Lamelo on the other hand only started in 31 of the 51 games he appeared in this year but has had a very promising rookie season. 

Lamelo is the best thing to happen to Charlotte Basketball period. Both from a competition and business standpoint. Lamelo brings a fire to the team and though they did not make playoffs this year I fully expect the team to consistently make the playoffs from this point on. Being a consistent playoff team allows your team to be a desired location for big name players to land in free agency. One scenerio that is very much possible is Lonzo landing in Buzz City and playing alongside his brother. 

This is a move the Hornets need to heavily pursue. The amount of publicity the team would get nationally would likely be more than the city can handle. The Hornets already have a solid young core with Ball, Bridges, Monk, Rozier, Washington, Graham, and Hayward. Some development and this could be a dangerous team. Though there are no superstars this is one of the most balanced teams in the NBA. Lonzo Ball, or any other solid player, could be the final piece that the Hornets need to elevate themselves to the next level.