For years, the Golden State Warriors and the Ball family have been tied together by destiny — from Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo copying Stephen Curry’s fearless range and flashy handles in high school highlight reels, to the franchise passing on LaMelo with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft to take James Wiseman instead.
But in the last few weeks, that long-running connection nearly produced the most unlikely chapter yet: Golden State on the verge of signing the eldest Ball brother, Lonzo, straight off the buyout wire.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Warriors didn’t just kick the tires — they got dangerously close to putting pen to paper. Contracts were reviewed. Medicals were exchanged. The deal was essentially one signature away from becoming official.
Then came the shocking twist that killed everything at the absolute last second.
Lonzo Ball’s tortured path had already been well-documented. Selected second overall by the Lakers in 2017 as the next great do-it-all point guard, the 6-foot-6 floor general never quite became the All-Star many predicted. Instead he carved out a respectable niche as a playmaking, sharp-shooting, switch-everything defender.
Then the knees betrayed him.
A devastating injury sidelined him for more than two full calendar years. After a promising 35-game cameo with the Chicago Bulls at the end of last season, the Cavs rolled the dice and acquired him in the offseason. Reality hit hard and fast: Ball couldn’t stay healthy or productive enough to crack Cleveland’s rotation. He was salary-dumped at the trade deadline, waived, and left for the open market.
Three weeks later, with teams across the league still able to sign him to a rest-of-season deal, silence has been deafening. The reason, Stein revealed on the All-NBA podcast, is simple and brutal: the Warriors were his most serious suitor — right up until they saw the medical reports.
On paper, the interest made sense. Golden State’s guard room is stacked on the roster (eight guards on the 14-man squad, plus two two-way guards) but decimated by injuries. Stephen Curry is out, Seth Curry has been sidelined for weeks, Gary Payton II and Brandin Podziemski are day-to-day. Another long, versatile guard like Lonzo — at least in theory — could have bridged the gap.
But the Warriors didn’t need another project. They needed reliability. They needed a body who could log real minutes tonight, tomorrow, and every night until Curry returned — whether that was two games or ten. A player with chronic knee issues who had already been passed around and waived by a contender? That was never going to fly.
They took one look at the medicals and walked away. No deal. No signature. No Lonzo in a Warriors jersey.
The shocking twist at the 11th hour has left Ball’s immediate future in limbo. League-wide interest has been ice cold, and for good reason — his knees have become the ultimate red flag. Some team may eventually take a low-risk flier in hopes of rehabbing him for a minimum deal next season, but right now the market is nonexistent.
The Bay Area nearly became Lonzo Ball’s salvation.
One ink stroke away.
Until the medicals spoke louder than the hype — and pulled the rug out from under what would have been one of the wildest reunions in recent NBA history.