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Projected top-five pick LaMelo Ball on Wednesday said that he has only spoken with two teams ahead of the 2020 NBA Draft: The New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors.
Ball interviewed with the Warriors, who hold the second overall pick, over the summer, and the Knicks at some point prior to the NBA Draft Combine last month. The 19-year-old revealed the two teams on “Jalen & Jacoby” but didn’t divulge too many details of the conversations.
“I’ve had just two teams: Knicks and Warriors,” Ball said. “That was just like a little Zoom call. Hopefully, everybody is [interested in drafting me]. To be honest, I’m just ready to go out and play; the whole little draft process, [it’s] too much with it.”
LaMelo Ball says he's only talked to two teams on Zoom calls during the pre-draft process: the Warriors and the Knicks đź‘€
(via @JalenRose)pic.twitter.com/kvq6JlR2pN
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) October 15, 2020
Of course, the Knicks currently have the eighth overall pick in the NBA Draft but have expressed interest in Ball. The organization is said to be high on Ball and James Wiseman and has been rumored into wanting to trade up to have the chance to select either player.
New York has also been reportedly interested in trading down to the middle of the first round unless Ball or Wiseman are still on the board at No. 8. The odds of that happening, though, are low, and why the Knicks would need to trade up in order to select them.
While Ball has apparently only interviewed with two teams, he could still speak with more teams after the NBA recently allowed organizations the opportunity to meet in-person with prospects. Teams will be permitted to watch workouts, collect medical information and other related moves.
The weeks leading up to the draft typically produce rampant speculation regarding the top prospects and teams looking to potentially make trades and this year will prove to be no different. As a result, the process will certainly be worth monitoring in the coming weeks.
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