By Zyria Jessie

With the NBA draft drawing closer, many are wondering where the flashy, illustrious point guard prospect LaMelo Ball will land. Many rumors have been put out about Ball’s draft stock plummeting in recent weeks due to his poor performance in team interviews leading up to the draft. Since ESPN recently declared Ball to be a projected top pick in the NBA draft, many fans believe that the rumors of his stock falling was a smokescreen for Ball to drop in the draft in order for teams like the New York Knicks to have a chance at drafting Ball outside of the top of the draft. So, smokescreens aside, where will LaMelo Ball land in the 2020 NBA draft?

Unlike the NFL, NBA teams typically choose to pick the best available player on the board instead of choosing a player who best fits their scheme or system, but will that be the case for LaMelo Ball? Ideally, his best fit would be to be selected by either the Detroit Pistons or the New York Nets, but it’s unlikely that Ball will drop that low in the draft as both of those teams pick 7th and 8th overall, respectively. Both the Pistons and Nets can trade up in the draft, but it’s looking like only Detroit will have enough valuable assets to be able to move up far enough to have a shot at Ball.

Scheme fits aside, the Detroit Pistons and the New York Knicks are a great fit for Ball, culturally. Ball’s current manager leading up to the draft is retired NBA player Jermaine Jackson, who was not only born in Detroit, but he also played for the Detroit Pistons from 1999-2000. Jermaine Jackson’s connection to the Pistons organization, along with the fact that Jackson has been training Ball in Detroit leading up to the draft, are great reasons for Ball to land in Detroit. As far as Ball landing with the New York Knicks, it is no surprise to any fan of the NBA that the Ball family, specifically their father LaVar Ball, have a desire to play with big market city teams, such as Los Angeles or New York. Leading up to the draft, the Knicks are already a team that LaMelo’s outspoken father, LaVar, has approved of. With claims of LaMelo being a once in a generational player, it would be a great opportunity for the Knicks organization to grab the youngest of the Ball brothers to pair with second-year player R.J Barrett in order to be a relevant basketball team once more.

Prediction:

The NBA draft is expected to kick off with the Minnesota Timberwolves select Anthony Edwards, the shooting guard out of Georgia. Barring any trades from teams such as the Chicago Bulls, expect the Golden State Warriors to select James Wiseman, center out of Memphis. With the Charlotte Hornets picking 3rd overall, this is where we should see LaMelo Ball finally come off the board, be it with the Hornets or another team trying to move up for the youngest Ball brother.

The Timberwolves might be hesitant to select Ball 1st overall due to his unattractive basketball resume leading into the NBA, as well as his early injury in the NBL (The National Basketball League in Australia). There are also rumors that the Warriors didn’t want to draft Ball because of his immaturity, which is why I see them passing up LaMelo for a chance to finally get their big man in their lineup. Charlotte right now seems like the best team to take the risk of drafting Ball, and they are in need of drafting a prospect with some fame and draw in order to boost fan excitement as well as ticket sales.

Rumors and predictions aside, the goal is for Ball to land with the team that has the best potential to make him a winner. NBA fans are tired of seeing great players waste their talent on losing teams. LaMelo Ball will also need to land on a team with a coach that will trust him to take the lead. That has been the problem so far with LaMelo’s older brother, Lonzo, in the NBA. If LaMelo is given control of a team right off the bat as we saw back in 2018 with Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks, then there is no telling how high his ceiling will be. Regardless of where Ball lands, the fact remains that he has made it to the NBA without the help of the NCAA. LaMelo Ball was initially given a lot of heat from analysts and fans alike for forgoing college basketball in order to play in Lithuania with the NBL. Whether or not LaMelo will be able to thrive in the NBA is to be determined, but as we are about to see, LaMelo Ball has thrived and made it to the big league by taking the path that he believed was best for him, and we can only applaud him for that going forward.

Zyria is a sports writer for La Tonique.