LiAngelo Ball signs with Pistons; all three Ball brothers in NBA
His deal is the closest the siblings have come to playing together in the NBA, a dream of their father, former NFLer LaVar Ball.
All three of the Ball brothers are expected to play in the 2020-2021 NBA season.
LiAngelo Ball, the middle child, signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Detroit Pistons this week. His younger brother, LaMelo Ball, was picked up as the number-three overall draft pick by the Charlotte Hornets.
The eldest brother, Lonzo Ball, is entering his second year with the New Orleans Pelicans after one season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
LiAngelo’s Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year, non-guaranteed deal. It will give the second Ball son the incentive to join the Pistons’ G League team and allow him to spend up to 45 days in the NBA in a season.
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He was playing for UCLA when he and two other freshmen were arrested on shoplifting charges in China in 2017. President Donald Trump reportedly intervened on behalf of the players and was assured that they would be treated “fairly and expeditiously” by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
After the arrest, LiAngelo Ball and the other players were suspended indefinitely from the UCLA basketball program. He went to Lithuania to play, where he outscored younger brother LaMelo on the same team, but he went undrafted in 2018.
Exhibit 10 is the closest all three brothers have come to possibly play in the NBA together, which was a dream of their father, former pro-football player LaVar Ball, who expressed his joy on Twitter.
YouTuber Troydan wrote on Twitter: “LIANGELO BALL TO THE PISTONS? Lavar Ball will go down as (the) greatest basketball father of all-time!”
Not all sports pundits are as confident. James Edwards, a Detroit native who covers the Pistons, wrote, “FWIW (For what it’s worth) I’d be stunned if Ball is more than just an extra camp body.”
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He said LiAngelo Ball’s future depends on how well he plays in camp.
The 2020-2021 NBA season is expected to begin in weeks. It is unclear how the league will play amid the coronavirus pandemic. Last season was played inside a bubble at Walt Disney World.
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