Lonzo Ball would rather go to Lakers than go No. 1 overall

Most top college prospects heading to the NBA draft would probably tell you their hope is to go No. 1 overall.

UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball, a projected top-three pick, feels he's worthy of being the top pick this summer, but his first choice would be to stay at home.

"I'm gonna go with the Lakers," Ball said Thursday on SportsNation, when asked if he'd rather go No. 1 or be drafted by Los Angeles.

"I'm a family dude," he explained. "All my family's in L.A., so to be able to play in front of them, you know, I think that would mean more to me."

There is, of course, a chance Ball could have his cake and eat it too.

The Lakers are already assured of having no worse than the third-best lottery odds, and could move up to second if they manage to out-tank the Phoenix Suns (losers of 13 straight games) in the season's final week. If the season ended today, the Lakers would have a 15.6 percent chance at getting the No. 1 pick.

Then there's a chance the Lakers could lose their pick altogether. If it falls outside the top three (a 53.1 percent shot, as of right now), the pick will convey to the Philadelphia 76ers, squashing any hope of Ball commencing his career in Hollywood. In other words, if he wants to play for the Lakers, he should probably be rooting for them to lose.