Lonzo Ball on The Woj Pod!
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the...?autoplay=true
Lonzo Ball made an appearance on the latest episode of The Woj Pod, and you all know what that means.
It means it's time for me to transcribe all the interesting and insightful parts! I'll drop the link here at the top so that anyone who is interested can easily find it, but the rest of this introductory post will be a standard Pelicanidae Transcription.
At this time of the year, so close to training camp, do you feel that your body is prepared and ready to go for this upcoming season?
Lonzo: For sure, especially with me doing rehab pretty much all summer, trying to get right for training camp. It's good to finally get cleared and be on the court for the last two weeks, full contact, so I'm looking forward to it. I've come out to Miami for a couple of days just to get away for a little bit before that long season starts.
What is open gym like right now for the Pelicans? You have so many interesting rookies, veterans, the Lakers group, and an all-star guy like Jrue Holiday.
Lonzo: That's exactly what it is, you have a bunch of guys trying to come together from different parts to try and make the team work and make it click. You know, open gym teams are always mixed up but it always ends up competitive. We've got everything that you need, in my opinion. You've got the younger guys, you've got the vets, a lot of talent and a lot of people that really like to work hard.
When the trade went down and everyone knew Zion was coming to New Orleans, one of the first things people talked about was Lonzo to Zion in transition. What's it been like playing with him so far, and building chemistry in the halfcourt and transition?
Lonzo: Yeah, he thrives in both. Pick and roll in the half-court is amazing with him, you can hit him on the short roll so you don't have to wait for him to get all the way to the basket. He's much more than a dunker, he's a playmaker. You know, I can give him the ball and he can take some dribbles and either take off or find the man in the corner. I've already thrown him some full-court lobs. You pretty much just have to put it anywhere where the backboard is, and he'll catch it.
Woj: That's the thing with him, he's unlike anything anyone has ever seen. There's never been a player exactly like him, and I think it made it hard to kind of project him in some ways. But the one thing, the constant that they always talked about, at Duke, and you saw it in the games and they said it in the practices, but just his motor. Whenever he was on the floor. And you'd see in college that he'd make up ground to cross court to block a shot. Do you see that in the open gym setting?
Lonzo: For sure. I feel like whenever he touches the court, his instinct is just the play hard. No matter what. He may not make every shot, but he's always gonna go out there and give it his all, no matter what.
In your career so far, you've struggled with injury. Have you approached this off-season differently in any way, diet or whatever, that might help stave off injury?
Lonzo: This summer the biggest thing for me was probably diet. Because I couldn't really run, as far as conditioning I couldn't really do too much apart from maybe the bike or something, but I think that diet played a big role in it. I got a chef, and I'm just trying to make sure that I can last those 82 this year.
Woj: What was the pre-Pelicans diet for you?
Lonzo: Ahh man, just regular food. I used to eat Jack in the Box, In-N-Out, you know stuff like that.
Woj: And you know that in New Orleans, that's always the threat. Like, lot of restaurants. Does it help, do you think, to have a chef in that city?
Lonzo: For sure, for sure. The moment I got there, all the vets was telling me, make sure you get a chef, especially E'twaun he was telling me you can pick up a quick 10, 15lbs here, so you know.
Is there a unique bond between you and the other Lakers, from having been in trade talks together for basically a year and then all getting shipped off at the same time?
Lonzo: Definitely, especially with me and BI. You know, we had a big role over in LA, and I'm happy he came with me. I know he's happy I came with him. So, I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do this year.
At what point in LA did it feel like, to you, 'my future probably isn't here'?
Lonzo: Well, I never was 100% sure, but I had a good feeling around all-star break. I feel like the injury did it for me, getting hurt twice in a row, and not being able to prove myself that season. You know, we were trying to make the playoffs, and I couldn't help. Cause I was hurt. So, with that and then the trade talks right after the all-star break, I had a good feeling.
As you mature and your career moves away from the Big Baller Brand, and you're a little bit further removed from LaVar, do you think that some of the tensions in your life might clear up and let you move on in a more typical family dynamic?
Lonzo: Sure. I mean, my dad's been talking my whole life so that doesn't really matter to me, but what's more important is that now I'm controlling everything now. Like, you can't tell me what to do. This is my life, my career, you know, I'm making all the decisions now. I chose to go to CAA. So, I just think that me becoming my own man is going to make it easier.
What was the moment that you decided that you had to take control of your career in this way? Is it with all of the legal issues with Big Baller Brand?
Lonzo: It was two things. It was that whole situation, and then me having my daughter. I feel like those two things kinda shaped me to what I am now. It's a lot different than the kid I was last year. So between those two, that's what happened and thats why I am what I am.
Woj: That moment of becoming a father, and the impact of that, having a daughter, how did that impact your thinking when it came to your professional life?
Lonzo: Just putting her first. You know, I've got to do certain things to make sure that her future is secure and it's not just my own family now, I've got her with me all the time and it's just making sure that she has the easiest path possible when she's growing up and she can do everything that she puts her mind to. So I'm just trying to put her in the position where she can do that.
Woj: Does that mean that making sure she's secure financially is more important than being in business with, you know, your dad and the rest of the family, is it that sort of thinking? Just financially protecting yourself?
Lonzo: For sure, I mean you want your kid to grow up with no worries. Obviously there's going to be problems in life, everybody has them, but my job is to make it as easy for her as possible. And that's what I'm trying to do.
Lots of stuff in there that I find pretty interesting. There's a LONG conversation about LaMelo which isn't really that productive because
1) Woj isn't a draft guy, it's clear that his knowledge of LaMelo is fairly shallow.
2) Lonzo isn't going to say negative stuff about his brother
I haven't transcribed ALL the stuff in this interview because a lot of it is similar to the stuff he said on the LightHarted Podcast, and also on the radio interview he did a few weeks ago. That stuff is well established and I haven't written it out again. But the stuff in here about Zion, and about taking his career in his own hands, that's really really encouraging.