It’s not often that top NBA Draft prospects make their way to the annual Draft combine held in the weeks leading up to the draft itself. The risk-reward proposition of the event rarely lends itself to lottery picks taking part.
A poor showing could lead to drastic reactions from the scouts, general managers and front office personnel in attendance and lower a player’s draft stock. And that isn’t to mention the more simple reasoning of unnecessary injury risk that could hamper their draft status as well.
It should come as little surprise, then, that LaVar Ball began laying the groundwork for LaMelo to sit out of the combine. In an interview with Forbes’ Pat Benson, LaVar was non-committal when asked if LaMelo would take part in the Draft Combine.
“I don’t know if he’s going to do the draft combine because I think he’s done enough. He’s proved enough on the court already. Now it’s just finding a good team, actually, a good coach who’s going to believe in him. That’s the main thing.”
It’s commonplace for the top prospects to sit out. Zion Williamson did not take part in the combine nor did DeAndre Ayton or Luka Doncic the year prior.
Ball is more or less cemented as a top-five pick. Nothing he does at the Draft Combine will move him definitively ahead of his competitors. It’s a high-risk, low-reward proposition that LaMelo shouldn’t, and won’t, be taking.
