The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the few teams in the 2020 NBA Draft that has had the opportunity to interview LaMelo Ball. Along with the Warriors and Knicks, the Wolves had a chance to interview Ball in-person in California. Now, it appears the franchise will not only be getting a second interview but a potential workout as well.
On Monday’s edition of The Lowe Post podcast by Zach Lowe, ESPN’s DraftExpress duo of Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz dropped by to discuss the 2020 NBA Draft. Givony discussed his piece earlier in the day in which he noted that Ball would likely be the No. 1 pick and further revealed that Ball and the Timberwolves will likely have a second meeting and workout coming up.
“I’m hearing some of the (trade) offers that are being made to Minnesota and they’re pretty good relative to what you would think is a bad No. 1 pick. It doesn’t sound like they’re going to make that move. So far, they’re rebuffing these offers. So, there’s going to be a second meeting here between LaMelo and Minnesota so point here in the near future. I expect he’s going to have to get on the basketball court and show them some stuff. But it’s possible that will be enough to lock up the No. 1 pick where they might just say ‘We’re not trading the pick and we’re committing to him.’”
So far, Ball has not had a pre-draft workout with a team in the draft. Ball and his camp have been very limited in the teams they’ve spoken to. This isn’t particularly special to LaMelo as Lonzo refused to workout with the Celtics in 2017, for example.
It is one of the few ways a prospect can control where they go in the draft. Ultimately, it may not matter who he works out for, particularly in a COVID world, but Ball and the Wolves may be set for a long partnership in the near future.