Top NBA prospect LaMelo Ball, along with Jermaine Jackson, purchase team in Australia's NBL
LaMelo Ball will likely be a top lottery pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
A product of Australia’s NBL League, Ball, 18, averaged 17 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 31 minutes per game this season.”Let me start with a story about a year ago,” Yahoo Sports’ Keith Smith told me on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
“I couldn’t be further down on LaMelo Ball. I just didn’t see it, I didn’t understand it. The improvement he made in that year in Australia was unbelievable. Plus he’s huge. He’s a giant for the position. He grew some and filled out his body and really stepped up his game. I think he’s going to be a high lottery pick, it all depends on how the lottery shakes out and where he’ll go but, I would be shocked if he’s not drafted in the top three. And I didn’t think that he would be a lottery pick at all last year, I was that far down on him.”
So just how good will Ball be? “I think he’s going to be good,” said Smith.
“But what I like about him is the way he sees the floor, he seems to have a great understanding of the game, which is going to be important being a point guard having the ball quite a bit in his hands…defensively, he needs a lot of work and he’s still very young and clearly he has to work on that body.”
Lamelo Ball’s already signed with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. “I think with Roc Nation, they even sound good,” LaVar Ball, LaMelo Ball’s father told me.
“We gonna ‘Roc’ the world. Big Baller. Look at the name; sounds good. We don’t want to join the team, we want to join the nation.”
While many are figuring out the logistics of the NBA potentially resuming play at Disney World or the Las Vegas strip OR BOTH, LaMelo Ball has still not publicly announced a signing with any sneaker company.
Some believe that Puma may have the advantage and others think Reebok could be a major player.
As for LaMelo Ball’s on court preparedness, Keith Smith analyzes how his brother, was during his draft process. “Lonzo [Ball] came in a little bit more filled out and ready to go on that end of the floor,” he said.
“But yeah, I’ve done a complete 180 on LaMelo. I think now he’s going to not only be exciting, but a good NBA player for a long time.”