Warriors urged to make ‘controversial’ signing for $20 million former Lakers lottery pick originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Golden State Warriors still have room for one additional asset on their roster.

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With Cam Thomas, Haywood Highsmith, and Jeremy Sochan off the board on the buyout market, the Warriors should move fast to avoid being left with only a few options.

Blue Man Hoop’s Peter O’Keefe believes that the Warriors should open to pairing Stephen Curry with a former Los Angeles Lakers lottery pick via a ‘controversial’ signing.

“Lonzo Ball could still be the best move for the Warriors,” O’Keefe wrote Saturday.

“It appeared as if Golden State were close to acquiring Ball after he was traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Utah Jazz last week, before promptly being waived which has left the 28-year-old as a free agent.”

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“However, things on Ball have gone quiet after a report from NBA insider Marc Stein at the start of the week suggesting the Warriors weren’t as keen as initially thought.”

“Yet with Sochan and Highsmith no longer available, Ball still appears like the best option for Golden State, even if some fans are underwhelmed at the prospect of the injury-prone guard. Ball has shown a higher ceiling at NBA level than both Highsmith and Sochan, while also being a theoretically better fit for the Warriors than the latter.”

Signing Ball makes more sense now than it did a week ago. When the buyout market was fresh and more enticing, it didn’t appear logical to pursue Ball aggressively, especially with his off-putting injury history.

Now that the market has dried up a bit, the Warriors have to take what they can get before it’s too late. Ball would undoubtedly help Golden State transform into a more formidable defensive team and could prove to be a serviceable offensive weapon for the seven-time NBA champions.

Simply put, adding Ball to the fold suddenly seems like a wise idea.

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