Since before the Los Angeles Lakers even selected Lonzo Ball with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, his father LaVar Ball has been trumpeting a plan to get all three of his sons, which also include LaMelo and LiAngo Ball, onto their hometown team.
So far LaVar is batting 1-for-1, although his goal to get each of his sons in Lakers uniforms will face a bigger hurdle even with middle child, LiAngelo, declaring for the 2018 NBA Draft.
The agent for LiAngelo, who has spent the season playing professionally in Lithuania after leaving UCLA amid a shoplifting scandal, told Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports that his client would be entering his name in the player pool for the upcoming draft:
LiAngelo Ball is expected to work out for several NBA teams when he returns from playing for Vytautas and will participate in the Pro Basketball Combine at IMG Academy (Florida) in May in front of team executives. As NBA teams increasingly value 3-point shooting and defending wings, Ball will have an opportunity to prove to teams that he is a potential draft pick.
Whether or not LiAngelo can prove that remains an open question. As a player who was expected to come off of the bench at UCLA and was a three-star recruit coming out of high school, getting drafted or even getting a shot to play for a G League team seems far from a guarantee.
On the other hand, LiAngelo did score 72 points in his professional game Tuesday, meaning he does have some level of talent. But between how large of a headache his father has proven he can create for a pro team and his own status as a fringe prospect anyway, LiAngelo might have a hard time getting on a summer league roster, much less getting drafted.
