Ball brother declares for NBA draft
LiAngelo Ball, a former UCLA player who currently competes professionally in Lithuania, is ready to return to the United States.
That is, if any NBA team will have him.
LiAngelo, the middle child of LaVar Ball, has declared for the 2018 NBA draft, his agent told Yahoo Sports.
The 19-year-old, who plays for the Lithuanian team Vytautas Prienu, recently submitted his early-entry paperwork to enter the draft.
Ball has averaged 15.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in nine first-division Lithuanian league games. The 6-foot-5 guard/forward is currently shooting 45 percent from beyond the arc, according to Yahoo Sports.
When he returns from Lithuania, it’s expected that Ball will work out for several NBA teams.
In May, he will be part of the Pro Basketball Combine at IMG Academy, giving him another chance to prove himself as an NBA talent.
Ball was a freshman on UCLA’s basketball team until his father pulled him out of school. Of course, he made headlines during his time with UCLA, but not for any reasons that had to do with basketball.
Rather, during a team trip to China, Ball and several of his teammates were detained for shoplifting. They later apologized.
Aside from his off-the-court issues, though, many people doubt that Ball will actually get drafted, in part because he was set to be a bench player for UCLA had he stayed with the team.
As noted by Tim Cato of SB Nation, “There is a very short list of players who are drafted despite coming off the bench for their college team, and they usually involve circumstances that don’t apply to Ball.”
Fox Sports 1 host Skip Bayless put it more bluntly, saying Tuesday, “I do not think he is going to get drafted.”
"I do not think LiAngelo Ball is going to get drafted."@RealSkipBayless and @ShannonSharpe react to LiAngelo Ball declaring for 2018 NBA draft pic.twitter.com/qtVIAYalDJ
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) March 27, 2018
LiAngelo always has been thought of as the weakest NBA prospect of the Ball brothers.
His older brother, Lonzo, was the second pick in last year’s draft and currently averages 10.2 points and 7.3 assists per game with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Meanwhile, his younger brother, LaMelo, once scored 92 points in a high school game.
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