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I think that the issue with Lamelo Ball is the same one that had so many of us swimming in schadenfreude with Lonzo's issues early on: Lavar Ball.

Lavar is an awful person who has always treated his sons as commodities, and is only able to truly measure them against the yardstick of what it is that they can do for *him*. As such, the disdain for Lavar spills over onto his sons. Obviously, this isn't fair to the kids, and I've been really happy to see Lonzo thrive after getting free of the Lakers. He's never going to come close to living up to the hype from when he was drafted, but I'd wager he's going to have a nice NBA career despite being unlikely to ever make an All-Star team. This is all possible, frankly, because he got humbled in Los Angeles, and that he basically cut Lavar out of his basketball life.

Lamelo is likely to need the same kind of experience before he's able to live up to this potential. I think the kid will improve his turnover issues, although he may not get to the point where people are unable to point to it as a legitimate problem with his game. I don't know if his shot will ever come around to where he'll need to be vigorously defended behind the arc. I've read more than a handful of reports that his work ethic borders on terrible, and if true, it will keep him from becoming the solid starter that Lonzo has become, particularly on the defensive end.

The fact that Charlotte is pretty bad and can afford to let Lamelo work out the kinks in real time can work in his favor, if he's willing to put in the effort to improve the many holes in his game. He'll also benefit from being in a smaller market, and not in the glare of LA, combined with the all-too-common insistence that he's the next Magic Johnson.

The question is, will losing 45-55 games for a couple of seasons drive him to work harder, or will it embolden him to demand a trade? At this moment, I'd bet on the latter.

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