LaMelo Ball came under fire in recent weeks after a report from the Charlotte Observer’s Rick Bonnell indicated Ball was slipping in the draft due to poor interviews. The report was the first indication of any kind of Ball’s pre-draft process and has since led to a host of other rumors.
Interestingly, that report was refuted in some capacity by an unexpected source in ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The former general manager of the Brooklyn Nets, Marks now serves as the cap guru for ESPN. Along with that, though, Marks helps prepare draft prospects for team interviews in the pre-draft process.
On the latest episode of The Lowe Post podcast with Zach Lowe, Marks revealed that Ball was one of those prospects he worked with this year. Marks also pushed back against the notion that Ball would be a headache for a franchise.
“…Rick (Bonnell) wrote a report about LaMelo and how he hasn’t interviewed that well and it certainly could be true and I’m sure it is because Rick has great sources and stuff like that. But I spent a lot of time with LaMelo. He’s one of my, I guess, stable of prospects I’ve helped prepare for the draft. So, I’m going to go out on a limb on LaMelo Ball here. He is an 18-, 19-year old kid who has not had much structure in his life but loves to play basketball, right? That is one thing you can not take away from this kid that he loves to play basketball.
So, I get it. Maybe he didn’t interview well with Charlotte and maybe he didn’t want to be there and stuff like that but, certainly you can do your game study on him, but from a personality standpoint, I don’t think there’s a risk at all if Charlotte takes him at three that this kid’s going to come here and be a pain in the you-know-what there.”
First, it’s interesting that Ball and his team sought out Marks to work with ahead of the draft. Ball certainly needed help, as do most draft prospects, in preparing for interviews with teams. While not extrapolating too much from one decision, it’s encouraging that Ball is seeking out help for areas he needs help in.
Second, it’s also noteworthy that someone like Marks, who still has sway around the league and whose voice matters, back Ball’s character. Many see LaVar’s personality and assume his children are the same. In reality, LaMelo, and his older brother Lonzo for that matter, could hardly be different. Both are relatively quiet players who keep to themselves and work hard on their game.
The team that can look past the preconceived notions about Ball will almost certainly find themselves a point guard with the talent and potential to be a franchise-changer in the future.
