Former UCLA star LiAngelo Ball, who went undrafted on Thursday's NBA draft, might not be playing in the league this season.
This is after the Los Angeles Lakers announced that it won't be including LiAngelo in its Summer League team. LiAngelo is the younger brother of Lakers court general Lonzo. The younger Ball underwent pre-draft workouts with the LA Lakers and the Golden State Warriors.
According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, among the primary reasons as to why the LA Lakers decided to not offer LiAngelo was due to last year's shoplifting incident in China. His father, Lavar, went on to pull him off from UCLA to play for the Vytautas Prienu in the Lithuanian Basketball League.
In his 15 games in Lithuania, LiAngelo averaged 12.9 points and 3.1 rebounds, while shooting 42.5 percent from the field and a remarkable 40.7 percent from the three-point country. Besides working out for the LA Lakers and the Warriors, LiAngelo also took part in the Professional Basketball Combine at the IMG Academy in Florida. However, LiAngelo failed to get an invite in the NBA Draft Combine.
"Obviously, there's more to it than basketball," the source said when asked about the Lakers' decision of not inviting LiAngelo.
Reports say that no team was interested in selecting LiAngelo in the draft. A general manager, who asked not to be named, said that LiAngelo is not part of players to be scouted.
What's Next For LiAngelo?
Sources close to the league believe that LiAngelo will likely play overseas again or suit up for G-League squad. However, experts are not closing on the possibility of LiAngelo eventually playing for a Summer League team.
Additionally, numerous reports say that LA Lakers G-League team have also said no to LiAngelo. He is rated by 247Sports as a three-star player and is ranked as the 50th best shooting guard of his class.
LiAngelo's failure to be selected in the draft immediately ruined the prospective plan of his father Lavar. It can be summoned that Lavar predicted that the LA Lakers would be going after LiAngelo after selecting Lonzo with the second overall pick last year.
Lonzo, the eldest of the Ball brothers, has been impressive for the LA Lakers last season averaging 10.2 points, 7.2 assists, and 6.9 rebounds in 52 games played. However, his shot selection raised some questions as Lonzo only managed to convert 36 percent of his field goal attempts last year.
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