The Warriors’ flirtation with Lonzo Ball never turned into anything more than a passing glance.
Golden State showed reported interest in Ball shortly after the February mid-season trade deadline, but over the last two months that interest has not resurfaced in free agency. That stands out a bit, especially with the Warriors also reportedly taking a look at another oversized point guard, three-time All-Star Ben Simmons.
Ball’s path has only gotten more uncertain. He had a difficult stretch with the Cleveland Cavaliers early last season, then was sent to the Utah Jazz in a cost-cutting deal. Utah waived him, pushing him to the buyout market, but the Warriors never moved forward and instead chose to convert the two-way contract of Pat Spencer, who is now gone from the team.
That lack of action is notable because Ball once looked like he could become much more than a steady guard. The former second overall pick never reached the star level expected of him, but he did show real promise with the Chicago Bulls before knee injuries wrecked his momentum. Now, at 27, he appears to be running out of runway to find another NBA job, with no clear sense of where he might land next.
The question hanging over all of this is simple: why Ball, and why not now? If Golden State was willing to consider Simmons on a training camp deal after he played no games last season and logged just 108 appearances over the past five years, then Ball’s case should not have been hard to make either. Especially after Simmons moved to the Sacramento Kings, the lack of renewed interest in Ball feels even more striking.
That said, the broader market helps explain the different levels of attention. Golden State, Sacramento, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the NBA Champion New York Knicks all showed interest in Simmons, which suggests teams are more willing to gamble on a 30-year-old trying to sort out his mental fragility than on Ball getting his body right after only 105 games in the past five years.
On paper, though, Ball still makes plenty of sense for the Warriors. At 6-foot-6, he brings real passing vision, and in Chicago he also flashed enough off-ball value to function as a catch-and-shoot threat. Add in his perimeter defense, and the fit becomes easy to picture.
That versatility could have made him both a backup behind Stephen Curry and, at times, a backcourt partner for the two-time MVP, with both players sharing the playmaking while staying dangerous away from the ball.
Instead, the Warriors’ interest after February may have represented Ball’s last real shot at sticking in the league. There’s a real chance that chapter is already closed.
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