Lakers Sign Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart

3:14pm: The Lakers have officially signed Ball and have also announced the signings of their other two first-round picks, Kyle Kuzma (No. 27) and Josh Hart (No. 30). Kuzma’s four-year deal will be worth about $8.65MM, while Hart’s will be worth approximately $8.475MM.

9:40am: The Lakers will formally sign second overall pick Lonzo Ball to his first NBA contract today, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Like other rookie deals for first-round picks, Ball’s pact will feature two guaranteed years followed by two team options.

As our chart for this year’s rookie scale shows, Ball is in line to make about $6.287MM in his rookie season. Assuming he plays out his full four-year deal, he’ll earn more than $33MM over the life of the contract. The UCLA product will be eligible for an extension in 2020, and would otherwise reach restricted free agency in 2021.

In past years, teams have been patient when it comes to signing first-round picks, since cap holds for those draftees counted for 100% of their rookie scale figure, despite the fact that virtually every player signed for 120% of the rookie scale. The league’s new CBA adjusted those cap holds to count for 120% of the rookie scale figure, so there’s now little incentive for teams to wait.

Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Jonathan Isaac (Magic), Malik Monk (Hornets), Luke Kennard (Pistons), and Bam Adebayo (Heat) are among the other first-rounders who have already officially signed contracts with their new teams.

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