LaVar Ball: LiAngelo should be a lottery pick

LiAngelo Ball has officially filed paperwork to declare for the 2018 NBA Draft, and the general consensus seems to be that he would be fortunate if a team took a chance on him in the second round. Not surprisingly, Ball’s father thinks that is absurd.

On Tuesday, LaVar Ball told Lithuanian basketball reporter Donatas Urbonas that he is going to take a much different approach with LiAngelo than he took with Lonzo heading into the draft. He also said he believes LiAngelo could be a lottery pick if not for politics.

LaVar on Gelo's predraft plan:"When Lonzo was coming out, I told we're not working out for nobody, only Lakers. With Gelo, I'm working out for everybody. Whoever invites him, he's coming" LaVar told he see Gelo as 1st rounder."Could be a lottery pick but they won't let it happen"

— Donatas Urbonas (@Urbodo) March 28, 2018

In other words, LaVar thinks LiAngelo is one of the best pro prospects in the draft but will not be drafted accordingly because of the negative publicity the Ball family gets. Any scout you talk to would disagree.

LiAngelo may have boosted his stock slightly by playing in Lithuania, as he’s averaging a league-leading 15.7 points and has showcased some versatility by hitting 45 percent of his shots from 3-point range. Still, he was never considered a strong NBA prospect when he played at UCLA. Though LaVar has routinely downplayed it, LiAngelo’s infamous shoplifting incident in China isn’t going to improve his image for NBA teams, either.