The Los Angeles Lakers took Lonzo Ball with the second pick of the 2017 NBA Draft. They had high expectations for him. The Lakers hope he will become the face of their franchise and be one of the next great NBA superstars. He was drafted with the intention of being a rookie of the year caliber player.

There’s only one problem: Lonzo Ball isn’t even the best rookie on his own team.

The best rookie on the Lakers is Kyle Kuzma, the 27^th round pick of the draft. Kuzma has been a welcoming surprise for the Lakers and has earned himself a spot in the starting rotation. He has far exceeded his expectations as a rookie and has put up 15 points a game and grabbed seven rebounds-per-game.

He’s shooting 51 percent from the field and 81 percent from the free throw line which is very respectable for a big man. His player efficiency rating is at a 15.3 which is just enough to be better than the league average of 15.

Compare that to Lonzo Ball, who has not met expectations. Lonzo is averaging 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game. That’s not too bad for a rookie point guard who focuses on setting up his teammates, but his efficiency is something to be concerned about.

Lonzo is only shooting 31.4 percent in total and shooting 25 percent from the three-point line. Even more alarming is that he’s only shooting 50 percent from the free-throw line in the 1.8 times he makes it to the line at all per game. His player efficiency rating is below the league average at 10.8. He is nowhere near the player he was in college.

At UCLA, he shot 55 percent and 41 percent from the three-point line. His efficiency rating was at 24.7. It’s safe to say that he hasn’t been comfortable adjusting to the NBA.

This raises the question, is Lonzo Ball a bust?

He does have plenty of room to grow physically and adjust to the NBA defenders. Plenty of players that are now considered All-Stars struggled in their rookie year.

Giannis Antetokounmpo only averaged 6.8 points his rookie season and still struggles with his jump-shot to this day. Jason Kidd, the player who Ball has drawn many comparisons to, only averaged 11 points his rookie year and struggled with his shot too.

The problem for Lonzo is that he can’t afford to struggle with his jump-shot as a guard. He isn’t physical enough to drive to the basket at an elite level like 6’11” Giannis Antetokounmpo can, and he doesn’t play with the same aggressiveness that Jason Kidd did.

Kidd was looking to score when he dribbled towards the rim unless he had a wide-open teammate. When Lonzo dribbles to the basket, he intends to pass, not score. Defenders don’t have to worry about Lonzo scoring and can limit his options because they know he’s going to pass unless he has a wide-open shot.

NBA point guards can’t play timid like that. This era of basketball is built for scoring and the rules benefit offensive players. Lonzo needs to learn how to be aggressive and draw contact to get to the free-throw line until his jump-shot becomes more consistent.

If Lonzo never develops his jump-shot and never learns how to score in the paint, then yes, he will certainly be a bust. It’s still early in the season and Lonzo has plenty of time to find consistency in his game, but it's concerning that he's been playing this poorly so far. He has much more work to put in than was expected for the number two pick of the draft.