Basketball Society’s Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson talks NBA free agency on CNN. Press Play Below To Listen!

You know you’re the man when you’re the King of Akron and you have a mural of yourself painted on a wall in the city of Los Angeles months before playing a single minute as a Los Angeles Laker.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock since July 1 and decided to come out and say hello, LeBron James is heading west and is looking to bring showtime like Magic Johnson to LA LA Land.

James will be joined in the city of angels with NBA vets Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee, Rajon Rondo and Michael Beasley.

A young talented roster on paper before the king’s arrival, the Lakers retain their young core of Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball.

Speaking of Lonzo Ball, contrary to popular belief, statistically, he didn’t have a bad rookie season.

Entering the league with high expectations coupled with a certain Big Baller Brand takeover with his dad, LaVar Ball, Lonzo Ball registered 10.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 7.2 APG, and 0.8 SPG this past season for the purple and gold.

Darn near close to Jason Kidd’s rookie season campaign. For those keeping score at home: J-Kidd held it down at point guard for the Dallas Mavs during the 1994-95 season where he posted 11.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 7.7 APG and was named the NBA’s Co-Rookie of the Year alongside Grant Hill.

“I believe that Lonzo is a great basketball player,” T.J. Kidd, Jason Kidd’s son told me.

“High basketball I.Q,. great passer. He has without a doubt the potential to be great and do great things in the NBA. I think there are some similarities between the two. But I think at the same time, they’re playing in two different eras.” Some believe he needs a little bit more seasoning. “He is tall and athletic like J-Kidd was coming out,” Kenyon Martin told me on the Scoop B Radio Podcast. “I saw J-Kidd when he first came in and seeing the things he did. I guess against tougher defense. We will see. The kid [Lonzo] can play and I’m not taking anything away from him, but he needs to show me more.”

Playing with the game’s best player in LeBron James raises Lonzo and the Lakers’ profile even higher.

“I think people need to leave Lonzo and let him play,” former Los Angeles Lakers guard, Tracy Murray told a reporter, Landon Buford in a recent profile story in The Hype Magazine.

“If you look at his numbers, they are fine. The Lakers play better with him than without him. That is how you know someone’s impact on the game. Leave his shot, and him alone.”

Basketball Society’s Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson talks LeBron James and Lakers on ESPN Radio.

Currently a UCLA Bruins men’s basketball television analyst, Murray was the 18th pick in the 1992 NBA Draft and won an NBA championship in 1995 with the Hakeem Olajuwon-led Houston Rockets that was anchored with Sam Cassell, Kenny Smith, Robert Horry and Clyde Drexler.

A Pasadena, California native, Murray, is a career 38% 3-point shooter during his NBA career with the best statistical season coming during the 1995-96 season where he posted 15 points and 6 rebounds for the Toronto Raptors.

Murray was a Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach during the 2015-16 season, Kobe Bryant’s last season where the Byron Scott-led Lakers went 17-65. The Lakers went into re-branding mode after Bryant’s retirement. The Lakers drafted Brandon Ingram in the 2016 NBA Draft, traded D’Angelo Russell and drafted Lonzo Ball last year summer, ushering the next chapter in the team’s storied franchise that won 16 championships.

As for Lonzo Ball, the time is now.

“He is probably the most unselfish young player on the court today, said Tracy Murray. “If people did not know what they were getting with Lonzo then they have not been watching him play.”

Ball was named to the NBA’s 2018 All-NBA Rookie Second Team joining the Dallas Mavericks’ Dennis Smith Jr., Phoenix Suns’ Josh Jackson, Atlanta Hawks’ John Collins and Sacramento Kings’ Bogdan Bogdanovic.

“The only thing I think he should improve is the defense of his peers,” said Murray.

The process of showing and proving begins soon for Lonzo Ball, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers’ Showtime era of Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Byron Scott and more were the hottest ticket in town in the 80s. The 90s belonged to the Chicago Bulls. But the Lakers were ‘a thing’ again in the early 2000s with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal running things. The Bryant-led Lakers with a supporting cast of Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza were ‘a thing’ in the 2010s.

The next best thing begins now.