NBA Draft Rumors: LaMelo Ball Disappointing in Draft Workouts, Not Guaranteed a Top-Pick

The Ball family will introduce a new member into the NBA. LaMelo Ball is joining his brother Lonzo in the NBA through the 2020 NBA Draft.

Ball took an unorthodox route to the NBA draft. Most hopeful prospects look to enter the NBA draft after a year or two at university. LaMelo, on the other hand, went to countries like Lithuania and Australia to play professionally. Moreover, he even became one of the youngest American players to sign a professional basketball contract.

Ball’s tenure at Australia allowed him to gain the experience needed to enter the NBA. He won Rookie of the Year for the NBL in Australia. Now, Lamelo is one of the top prospects entering the NBA Draft. Much of the speculation around the draft suggests that Lamelo could be at least a top-5 draft pick. LaMelo has the talent, skill, and resumé to warrant the coveted #1 overall draft pick.

LaMelo Ball no longer a top-pick?

For NBA teams, they are given the advantage of scouting potential rookies through the NBA Draft Combine. At the combine, draftees are put through shooting drills, pace tests, strength challenges, and pick-up games so that coaches and NBA scouts can understand the playing style of a player.

If they’re impressed, the scouts invite players to work out with their franchises to assess how the player would fit in their team. This may undo Ball’s chances to be a top pick.

The Charlotte Observer’s Rick Bonnell revealed that Ball’s interviews and workouts are undoing his ‘projected top-5 pick’ status. “Here is what I’m hearing from the league at large: LaMelo Ball is not performing very well at job interviews. I’ve heard that from multiple sources. He is not improving his perception via job interview.

“There are people drafting later in the top ten who were not preparing for the possibility of Ball still being around and, I’m not saying that he will be a top-three pick, I am saying that I know for a fact that there are teams later in the top ten who are doing more research on him because they no longer think it’s a given he will.”

Ball will try to turn this around, if the reports are believed to be true. His brother Lonzo was the second overall in the 2017 NBA draft. But he went to the Pelicans in a deal that saw Anthony Davis join the Lakers.