The Lakers roster received a huge upgrade this season. This is the first of a five part series highlighting each player’s potential role, recent achievements, and injury risk starting with the Point Guard position.

Lonzo Ball #2
- Projected Role: Starting Point Guard
- Salary this season: $7.4M with 2 years remaining after this season
- 20 years old
Y’all really thought he was gonna pass up the greatest city in the world… #TheKingIsHere
— Lonzo Ball (@ZO2_) July 2, 2018
2016-17 (UCLA Bruins)
- NCAA season assist leader
- Consensus First Team All-American
- PAC-12 Freshman of the Year
2017-18 (Lakers)
- Drafted 2nd overall by the Lakers
- Named Summer League MVP while leading the Lakers to the Summer League title
- Earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors
- Ranked 2nd in Assists among rookies
- Averages: 10.2 points / 6.2 rebounds / 7.2 assists
Injuries
- Lonzo missed a total of 30 games during his rookie season due to various injuries. The most serious of those was believed to be a sprained MCL, but was later diagnosed as a torn meniscus. He’s had surgery to repair it and should be fully recovered for the start of training camp. His durability isn’t expected to be a concern, but only time will tell.




Rajon Rondo #9
- Projected Role: Backup Point Guard and mentor to Lonzo Ball
- Salary this season: $9M on a 1-year contract
- 32 years old, this will be his 13th NBA season
- Pronunciation: RAW-John, with “John” similar to “Jean”-Claude Van Damme
- Lifelong enemy of some Lakers fans, as he spent 8 season in Boston
Rondo on Lonzo: “I’m excited to get a player at that age and try to help him as much as I can, as far as understanding the game and getting his game up to speed at a high level.”
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) July 6, 2018
Career Highlights
- Helped Boston defeat the Lakers in the 2007-08 NBA Finals ?
- 4 time NBA All-Star
- 3 time NBA assist leader
- 1 time NBA steals leader
- 2 time NBA All-Defensive First Team
- 2 time NBA All-Defensive Second Team
- 1 Time All-NBA Third Team
- NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2006-07
2017-18 (Pelicans)
- Averages: 8.3 points / 4.0 rebounds / 8.2 assists
- Playoff Averages: 10.3 points / 7.6 rebounds / 12.2 assists
- On Dec 17, dropped 25 assists vs Brooklyn
Injuries
- Through 12 seasons in the NBA, Rondo has suffered his share of injuries. The most severe being a torn ACL in 2012-13 which he seems to have completely recovered from. More recently, he had surgery for a sports hernia at the beginning of last season. He finished the season without setbacks, so he appears to be in relatively good shape. Limiting his minutes in a backup role to Lonzo Ball will surely increase his odds of staying healthy.




Alex Caruso #4
- Projected Role: G League prospect. Caruso signed to a 2-way contract this off-season which shows that the Lakers have him locked and loaded to move from the G League to the NBA roster should Ball or Rondo suffer an injury
- 23 years old
You’ve gotta want it like @ACFresh21 wants it. #LakeShow
(: @SpectrumSN & ESPN2) pic.twitter.com/v6jY0MjEuv
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) July 11, 2018
2015-16 (Texas A&M Aggies)
- Became the school’s all time assists leader (649) and steals leader (276)
- SEC All-Defensive Team
- All-SEC Second Team
- 4-year Averages: 8.0 points / 4.7 assists / 2.0 steals
2016-17 (Thunder)
- Went undrafted in the 2016-17 NBA draft
- Spent time with the 76ers as well as the Thunder, but ultimately finished the season on the Thunder’s G League squad
2017-18 (Lakers)
- Signed with the Lakers and helped them take home the Summer League championship
- Spent most of the season on the G League roster, but appeared in 37 regular season games for the Lakers mainly due to Lonzo Ball’s torn meniscus
Injuries
- Caruso has been pretty durable in his young career, and has avoided any notable injury




Joel Berry II #11
- Projected Role: G League prospect. Berry went undrafted in the 2018-19 NBA draft. He will likely remain on the G League roster as he continues to develop his game, and will need to consistently outplay Caruso if he hopes to be called up if Ball or Rondo suffer an injury
- 23 years old
Joel Berry II became the first player in 44 years to score 20-plus points in back-to-back NCAA title games.https://t.co/KEdXz5ceW4
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) July 21, 2018
2016-17 (North Carolina Tar Heels)
- Led the Tar Heels to the NCAA Championship
- NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player
- Second Team All-ACC
2017-18 (North Carolina Tar Heels)
- First Team All-ACC
- Third Team NABC All-American
Injuries
- During the Tar Heels championship run in 2016-17, Berry played with injuries to both ankles but still managed to rack up 22 points and 6 assists in the championship game. In his senior season of 2017-18, his ankle injuries proved to be a thing of the past as he earned multiple individual awards for his play.
Coming soon is Part 2: Shooting Guards – featuring KCP, Summer League MVP Josh Hart, and rookies Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Isaac Bonga.
Contact Ryan Ramsey on Twitter @DoubleR818
Top Background Photo Credit: Derick E. Hingle / USA TODAY Sport