Lonzo Ball posted a pointed Instagram minutes after escaping the trade deadline without being shipped out of Los Angeles
- Before Thursday's NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers made multiple trade offers to the New Orleans Pelicans in pursuit of Anthony Davis.
- Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball - who likely would have parted ways with Los Angeles had a deal for Davis been reached - posted a video to Instagram to celebrate surviving the trade deadline without being moved.
- Check out the hilarious - and pointed - video below:
It's safe to say Lonzo Ball is happy to stay in Los Angeles.
The second-year point guard - whom the Lakers selected with the second pick in the 2017 NBA Draft - was widely expected to be packaged into a blockbuster trade to the New Orleans Pelicans for NBA superstar Anthony Davis. But after negotiating up until Thursday's trade deadline, Los Angeles failed to put together a strong enough offer to entice the Pelicans into parting ways with their franchise cornerstone.
Ball took to Instagram to celebrate staying with his hometown franchise, posting a video of a speaker blasting P. Diddy's "Bad Boy for Life" during the song's signature lyrics "We ain't going nowhere."
Ball may have intended to send a not-so-cryptic message to LeBron James and the Lakers' front office with the post. James and president of basketball operations Magic Johnson were both firm proponents of a deal to land Davis and, by default, to ship Ball out of L.A.
Check out the full video below:
Ball grew up in Chino Hills, California and played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins before he was drafted to the Lakers. His father, LaVar Ball, was an outspoken proponent of Lonzo joining Los Angeles, publicly declaring that he would "speak it into existence" months before the draft. The entire Ball family can now breathe a sigh of relief that Lonzo will remain in the City of Angels, at least until the end of the season.
- Read more:
- The NBA exploded ahead of another hectic trade deadline - here are all the deals that went down
- LeBron James blasted the mid-game trade of Harrison Barnes in a move that appeared to contain a message about the Anthony Davis trade saga
- The Pelicans reportedly want the Lakers to keep bidding against themselves for Anthony Davis, and it could lead to an unprecedented haul
- LeBron James' second game back with the Lakers, amid swirling trade rumors, was a disaster