Report: LiAngelo Ball not talented enough for Lakers’ summer team

LiAngelo Ball’s exclusion from the Los Angeles Lakers’ summer league team may have been due to an issue of talent.

Leading up to Thursday’s NBA Draft, Ball held workouts with a couple of teams, including the Lakers, for whom his brother, Lonzo, plays. That may be the extent of Ball’s association with the Lakers moving forward.

The Athletic’s Bill Oram reported on Friday that a Lakers source told him LiAngelo was left off the summer league team because of a lack of talent.

When it comes to LiAngelo Ball and summer league, a Lakers source said "talent-wise he just didn't make the cut" and that the team "felt like we had better options on the table."

— Bill Oram (@billoram) June 22, 2018

That’s notable because ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that Ball would not be invited to be on the Lakers’ summer league team for possibly another reason.

Prior to Lonzo Ball being drafted by the Lakers last year, his father LaVar talked about his plan to one day have all three of his sons one day play for the Lakers. One may be all LaVar gets. It seems the ship has all but sailed on LiAngelo wearing the purple and gold anytime soon. LaVar’s last shot could be with his youngest son, LaMelo, who currently plays for the Los Angeles Ballers of the Junior Basketball Association, a league founded by LaVar Ball.