Agent told LaVar Ball that Suns might take son LiAngelo late in draft
Sep 4, 2018, 2:54 PM
On June 21, 60 players’ names were called with hopes that they would be the next NBA stars. LiAngelo Ball was not one of those names.
Despite never playing a regular-season college basketball game, Ball was the most well-known player not taken in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Perhaps LiAngelo is best known for his family members. His older brother, Lonzo, had a solid rookie season with the Lakers, and his father, LaVar, has become a icon in the sports world for his outrageous soundbytes.
In the latest episode of Facebook series “Ball in the Family,” it was revealed that a LiAngelo’s agent, Harrison Gaines, told LaVar it was unlikely that LiAngelo would be selected. Gaines said the only team he believed might draft LiAngelo was the Phoenix Suns, who owned the No. 59 pick.
Instead, the Suns chose Colorado guard George King with the pick.
Not only did LiAngelo go undrafted, but he also didn’t receive an invite to the NBA Summer League, which begs the question: how strongly were teams like the Suns actually considering picking LiAngelo? To this day, there is no knowledge of a workout with the team, and Phoenix didn’t even take him with the second-to-last pick in the draft.
LiAngelo was slated to play for UCLA before he was arrested on a team trip to China for shoplifting, leading to his departure from the university. He then went on to play professionally in Lithuania with his younger brother LaMelo before entering the 2018 NBA Draft.
Prior to the draft, LiAngelo explained his decision to stay in the draft.
“I chose to stay in and see what happens because at the end of the day, I’m 19 years old,” Ball said. “If I don’t get picked, I’m just gonna take a different route. I feel confident going into the draft, so we’ll see.”
After going undrafted, LiAngelo joined the Los Angeles Ballers of the JBA, the league sponsored and founded by his father.
