According to his agent, LiAngelo Ball has declared for the 2018 NBA draft. However, whether the 19-year-old swingman actually will be selected remains to be seen.
Known more for his father Lavar’s antics and his involvement in a shoplifting scandal in China as a member of UCLA’s basketball team, Ball is considered to be shaky NBA prospect by most experts.
That didn’t stop him and his agent, Harrison Gaines, from formally submitting early-entry paperwork that makes Ball eligible to enter the draft this June.
Currently playing professionally with Lithuanian team Vytautas Prienu, Ball is averaging a league-leading 15.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting 45 percent from 3-point range.
Those numbers might be enough to entice the Lakers – who drafted his brother Lonzo third overall last year – to take a chance on Ball, but, as ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski previously noted, the odds aren’t good.
Ex-UCLA freshman LiAngelo Ball has no chance that he’ll be drafted in June — and that was true before his shoplifting incident in China. “He’s not on any of our scouting lists — even the extended lists,” one GM told ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 4, 2017
Ball will struggle to find a serious job playing pro basketball, including the G-League. @Mike_Schmitz projected him in high school as a small-ball stretch 4-man at the mid-major college level. Would make sense for Ball to find a scholarship at a lower level and stay in school.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 4, 2017
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