Lonzo Ball's projection - 4 years/$100 million (John Hollinger)

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There’s a lot of buzz that Lonzo Ball may be available, including recent reporting from The Athletic’s Shams Charania, and that could offer an opportunity to get a starting-caliber, 23-year-old point guard in the free-agent market for a needy team. Obviously, the Knicks are the first place to start because they’re always the first place to start with free agents, but teams like Chicago, Dallas, Miami or Toronto could all be players here. (And if we want to get crazy, how about a Lonzo-Lowry sign-and-trade?)

The idea that Ball can’t shoot is now officially tired; he made 37.8 percent of his 3s at a high volume and shot 78.1 percent from the line last year, and is at 35.3 percent career from 3. The bigger misgiving is about his shot creation inside the arc and his still-iffy ability to run pick-and-roll in the half court. Ball can guard the position and is gifted in transition, but he works best with another perimeter shot creator.

As a result, teams are likely to pump the brakes well short of a max contract on Ball. Something in the range of four years and $100 million seems a more likely ceiling given the offensive concerns; that’s already spendy for somebody who can be the third-best player on a good team but probably no more than that.

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