LiAngelo Ball’s NBA journey has been a long, uphill one, derailed early on by him withdrawing from UCLA during his freshman season. Despite putting himself behind the eight ball, Ball has continued working and has given himself opportunities to get back into the league.
Brief stints with the Oklahoma City Blue in the G League and Detroit Pistons during training camp are the closest he’s gotten to the NBA so far, but he could be set for another opportunity. During last week’s Drew League games in California, Ball was not in attendance and did not play after doing so the previous week.
While it’s common for players to come and go during the Drew League season, LiAngelo’s grandfather and LaVar’s father, affectionately nicknamed as Big Yank, mentioned on an Instagram Live – which he likely did not know he was a part of – why Ball was not around.
Lavar’s Father “Big Yank” reveals why LiAngelo Ball isn’t playing with Team BBB in the drew league…
“They’re keeping him in North Carolina cause the Charlotte Hornets might be trying to sign Gelo” pic.twitter.com/K9yIHiahdY
— DKM 🏀⚽️ (@DKM_Sports) June 30, 2021
Certainly, Big Yank isn’t any sort of official word and, with all due respect, probably isn’t someone who can be fully trusted on the matter. Considering his follow-up quote about Lonzo being a free agent that can sign with Charlotte this offseason, he likely doesn’t have a firm grasp on NBA rules.
But it’s also not something he’s likely to lie about. LiAngelo is almost certainly in Charlotte and very possibly received some type of workout with the Hornets. One of the most probable outcomes is that LiAngelo’s workout leads to a spot on Charlotte’s Summer League team.
It’s unlikely any of these leads to a real NBA contract yet, though. Considering Ball couldn’t even last with Detroit through training camp last year, he’s not getting any sort of guaranteed contract, two-way or not, until he can prove his value as a player.
[lawrence-related id=32653,32633][listicle id=32396]