Metta World Peace wants all basketball critics to CHILL with the Lonzo Ball takes ... 'cause the ex-Laker says it's way too early to tell if the Big Baller is the real deal.
We spoke with Metta -- who just joined the Lakers' G-League team as a player development coach -- about Zo's first week in the NBA ... and he thinks it'll take 3 YEARS to find out if he's legit.
FYI -- Ball's averaging 11.5 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists through 4 games.
We'll check back with Metta in 2020.