There is “extreme pessimism” that the Lakers have any interest in LiAngelo Ball after holding a pre-draft workout with him Tuesday, reports the New York Times. Ball, the younger brother of Lakers guard Lonzo Ball, is hoping to impress team scouts in the lead up to the 2018 NBA Draft, which is set to be held June 21.
However, the word coming out after Ball’s workout with the Lakers in Los Angeles is … not good.
First, the New York Times reported that “there is pessimism in the extreme coming out of L.A. today” that the Lakers have any interest in Ball, even for the G-League. USA Today followed up corroborating the report.
And then ESPN added this tweet:
Yep. As one observer put it, "He tried hard." https://t.co/m6S6FcYKMq
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) May 30, 2018
Not exactly a rousing endorsement.
All indications are that LiAngelo Ball didn’t impress the Lakers in this opportunity in front of the team. The 19-year-old spent the past year playing in Lithuania after leaving UCLA and has always appeared to be a fringe prospect at the NBA level, despite his older brother’s success and his father’s boisterousness.
