Over the past couple of weeks there were rumors of Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball working out with an all-time great at the position (and former Laker) Steve Nash. While Lonzo’s father made some bombastic comments regarding what Nash could teach his son — in the process, dismissing the supposed workout entirely — Lonzo has now gone on record confirming the session took place.
Beyond that, Lonzo provided real insight into what he and Nash worked on and how valuable he found the former MVP’s tutelage. Via Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk:
“He’s an MVP, you know, one of the best point guards who ever played, so anything that he taught me is definitely useful,” Ball said. “And just that one day alone I learned a lot about coming off a screen, guarding, there’s a lot of stuff he helped and I appreciate him taking time out of his day to do that because I know he didn’t have to.”
Lonzo also discussed Nash schooling him in the arts of nutrition, workout regimens, and recovery:
“We talked about nutrition, keeping your body right in the training room and stuff, lifting weights the right way, so he helped me on more things than just basketball,” Ball said. “He helped me with my all around game… speaking for myself, I haven’t really taken care of my body like that before because I didn’t have to. Hearing it from him, it definitely made a lot of sense and I’m looking forward to adding that to my daily routine.”
First, Nash offering Ball tips on how to use screens is especially intriguing to me. During his heyday, Nash was a master at manipulating screens, exploiting angles, and using his dual-ability as a shooter and driver to keep defenses off balance. Nash wasn’t what many considered a great athlete, but his short area quickness, understanding of player positioning, and smarts in how to leverage his own skills to take advantage of what the defense gave him was Ph.D. level.
Passing on some of those tips and taking the time to explain any of those tactics and techniques to Ball will certainly prove helpful — even if it was only in a single session. Especially since these are not currently strengths of Lonzo’s. Currently, Ball offers limited savvy as a P&R ball-handler in relation to optimizing going in and coming out of screens. Using proper pace, setting up angles, knowing how to reverse course to set up re-screens, manipulating his defender to make him go over or under — then utilizing the right footwork + ball handling techniques to punish that decision…these are all areas of growth for Lonzo.
Which, you know, is fine! He’s a 19 year old rookie and nowhere near a finished product. But getting guidance and pointers on some of these things from one of the best players to ever do these specific things? Yeah, I’m down for that.
As for the nutrition and workout stuff, I think this too has value. The earlier in their careers players can incorporate these things into their daily routines and habits, the better. In our discussion with Amoila Cesar, he talked about some of the teaching he’s done with Julius Randle this off-season on nutrition and recovery that was such a key part in making their training regimen a success. Modern science and training techniques are going to help him. And while a lot of that information is going to come from the Lakers’ staff, having someone who maximized his career, in part, to utilizing these tactics offering advice can only be a good thing.
Overall, then, I’m just happy to hear this session happened at all and that Lonzo seemed to find real value in it. The season is almost here, you guys. Soon we’re going to see how all this off-season work translates to the court.
MT87 says
This is so cool. I know Nash is a touchy subject for some people in lakerland but he is one of my favorite players ever. His strengths in the pick and roll and half court match up with a lot of Lonzo’s weaknesses. He was also one of the best passers the game has seen so hopefully he understands and can speak to Lonzo’s on-court mentality a little bit.
Anonymous says
Obviously his career on the Lakers wasn’t what anyone wanted, but if he can help our next generation of young guys, then maybe that ends up being the reason he showed up here in the first place.
KevTheBold says
This makes me feel a bit better about Nash, so much so, that I won’t call him Steve Cash any longer, as he got paid tens of millions by the Lakers for practically nothing in return.
That is unless he billed us for the workout – Lol !
I’m curious as to why he chose Lonzo to pass his amazing skill-sets to?
I’m hoping that he saw something in the kid.
So far, Lebron scouting Lonzo in summer league – and now Nash working with him – kiddo is looking pretty good these days.
Chris J says
I was under the impression Nash was a consultant or has a contract of some kind with the Warriors? If so, it’s weird that the team would let him work out and help out a player who’ll no doubt be gunning to push the Lakers past Golden State in the years to come.
Either way, you can’t ask for better tutelage than getting opportunities to pick the brains of Nash and Magic Johnson.
R says
Maybe it’s similar to the league turning a blind eye to player collusion, in that ex-players are allowed to violate their contracts.
Must be nice to do whatever you want, whenever you want.
MsWay says
I hope that this kid can remain humbled by the league ,the hall of famers that can lead him and advise him and his friendships with team mates and competitors around the league.With a Father such as his ,his son will feel the burden and the wrath of competitors who will want to see him fail and take pleasure in doing so.The result I believe will be that his peers are good hearted and the fans all across the country will be pulling for this kid to succeed and try to be as normal as possible under such high pressure and Mountainous Expectations.
LaLaker14 says
Glad to see Zo working with a PnR savant!
Ed says
I look on Lonzo as a guy with good athleticism,and some great natural skills,who has gotten by without attention to some of the things he`ll need in the NBA. Time with Nash,Kobe etc. can only help. Too late this year,but training with Cesar next year would really help maximize the potential we know he has. I expect him to defer to vets at first,but gradually look more to score later in the year.
Tom Daniels says
Yes. His vision and athleticism have worked at every other level. Now details and skill development and practice habits and training wiill determine his NBA future.
dxmanners says
Who would have guessed that trading for a 40 year old point guard wouldn’t work out? Nearly everybody.
Anonymous says
Except Jim and Mitch….
MT87 says
Not that there is any value in rehashing, but at the time everybody thought the Lakers were going to be a championship contender that year. It isn’t like Nash went out on wear-and-tear injury either.
Anonymous says
In the history of the game no one has performed at the level Nash needed to in order to justify the price of the deal or the salary spent. No one. So from that perspective The Nash deal was guaranteed to fail.
That was Jim doubling down on a losing hand. The upside was a one year window to win it all. The downside, well the downside was the last four years we just went through.
Anonymous says
In the above comment I meant to say:
In the history of the game no one, at age 40, has performed at the level Nash needed to in order to justify the price of the deal or the salary spent. No one.
Chris J says
Go back and re-read my comments the day of that trade. Not everyone was on board or dreaming that adding Nash made the Lakers a title threat.
MT87 says
Did you predict that Nash’s season would be derailed three games in after banging knees and taking on some nerve damage? I know I didn’t.
Like I said, there isn’t really any value in rehashing but most people thought Nash and Howard put the Lakers in the contender category that year. We know it didn’t work out but the Nash signing wasn’t like the Moz/Deng disasters. It was legitimately the last best chance to get Kobe ring #6. It was a high risk, high reward move that didn’t work out and that is life but if I was the Lakers I would have made that move too.