LaMelo Ball

[Mainstreet]

LaMelo Ball is a 18.67 year old point guard prospect from the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League.

Ball stands 6' 7" and weighs 190 pounds. In 12 games with the Hawks he averaged 17 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists.

He shot .375 from the field and .250 from 3 point range.

Defense and shooting are areas where Ball needs to improve.

Here are a couple of snippets from NBA Draft Room describing him:

Strengths

Ball is an advanced ball-handler who possesses a strong left and the ability to take it into the lane with either hand. He is fast and crafty with the dribble and has a quick crossover and a lot of shake n bake moves to get past his man. He can handle against pressure and has a quick change of direction to shake free. He does a nice job of drawing the defense and dropping it off to a teammate in the paint or kicking it out for a three.

LaMelo has deep range on his jumper and although his his shot isn't falling at a good rate it's enough to keep the defense honest so that he can capitalize on his dribble-drive game and play-making skills.

Weaknesses

Ball is just an average athlete and lacks top level explosiveness and speed. He doesn't elevate well and his lack of strength and leaping ability make it harder for him to score in traffic and score over length. It remains to be seen if he can put on enough weight and add enough strength to hold his own at the highest levels of play (although he's got a much improved frame since last year).

http://www.nbadraftroom.com/2017/02/lamelo-ball.html

In the mock drafts, Tankathon has LaMelo Ball ranked #4, NBA Draft Room #5, NBADraft.Net #3 and The Ringer #2.

 

[Mainstreet]

Here is some scouting video on LaMelo Ball from ESPN.

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[Finito]

37 and 25?

yeah no.

 

[Russ Smith]

The thing is if he can get the left hand out of the way when he shoots his shot gets so much better. He has the same side flick that Lonzo did but NO has coached most of that out of him, with melo you have to fix the left hand first, get it out of the shot, and then fix the right hand. He has always shot 2 handed with a side spin, that has to go.

He's a better ball handler than Lonzo, I think Lonzo is a better passer(same age) and a better defender, but Melo seems a bit more athletic.

Melo shoots it too much from that video but he's always had a nice floater, something Lonzo doesn't really have

 

[Ronin]

2020 NBA Draft Prospect Profile: LaMelo Ball is this year’s best prospect

https://sports.yahoo.com/2020-nba-draft-prospect-profile-120054312.html

 

[SunnyBaller]

Lamelo has bust written all over him , with his size you would not expect him to be competing with Trae young for the leagues worst defender but he will be and his shot is terrible , he's lonzo without defensive , let some other team waste a pick on him

 

[Phrazbit]

I feel like LeMelo's ceiling is a taller Jason "White Chocolate" Williams, a slick passer who is dreadful at almost everything else.

 

[AZCrazy]

This is why this whole thing has to change. This guy is one of the top prospects and he is nowhere near ready to be an NBA player. The quality of the league is dragged down, college ball has become a joke, and NBA franchises now have to wager their teams on long term futures bets.

No one is good at anything at 18 years old except squeezing zits and not cleaning their room.

 

[Mainstreet]

I hope some team is thrilled with drafting LaMelo Ball and he goes early in the draft.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Lamelo has bust written all over him , with his size you would not expect him to be competing with Trae young for the leagues worst defender but he will be and his shot is terrible , he's lonzo without defensive , let some other team waste a pick on him

Except for that small part of him that suggests stardom. He's the wrong pick for us, the absolute most wrong pick for us but in the right situation, he could end up being the best player from this draft. For the right system, coaches and organization I'd give him a 50% chance of outright busting and a 5% chance of becoming an all time great. So, all told, IMO, it would be the height of stupidity for us to pick him. Hopefully that doesn't mean "trade up to get him" to this front office.

 

[Proximo]

He will be a good player, but not a star.

Sadly that still might mean he is the best player in this draft class.

His jumper will come around, but it will probably take a few years.

 

[Raze]

Except for that small part of him that suggests stardom. He's the wrong pick for us, the absolute most wrong pick for us but in the right situation, he could end up being the best player from this draft. For the right system, coaches and organization I'd give him a 50% chance of outright busting and a 5% chance of becoming an all time great. So, all told, IMO, it would be the height of stupidity for us to pick him. Hopefully that doesn't mean "trade up to get him" to this front office.

I assume you mean if we had a top pick or had to trade up to get him. In this draft, picking around #10, Ball would be a low risk/high reward prospect. I don't love the prospect, but I don't love many prospects in this draft. At #10 I'd be giddy at landing him, although I have little doubt he goes #1 so this is all moot. And to stress your point, I don't try to trade up for him unless the price tag reflects this poor draft and is affordable.

This guy is an ELITE dribbler/passer right now. Absolutely elite. I can't think of a single prospect in this draft that has elite anything. He's got quick feet and looks to have a long reach. So if he buys in to D he could easily be better than Ben Simmons (whom I can't stand). I don't see a high bust probability and see his floor as Ricky Rubio. Ceiling could be Magic-Lite (no one is Magic), but he could hover around a triple double every night (could be, not will be).

Melo is NOT his brother. His brother has MAJOR confidence issues (but deserves tons of praise for working on his shot and D). Melo does NOT suffer from confidence issues. That dude beams confidence and seems to have a killer instinct. He has some IT moments on film, so I completely agree on the 5% all time great potential.

The fact that his shot sucks is a huge knock. But compared to the other prospects...

Once again, I hate this draft.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I assume you mean if we had a top pick or had to trade up to get him. In this draft, picking around #10, Ball would be a low risk/high reward prospect. I don't love the prospect, but I don't love many prospects in this draft. At #10 I'd be giddy at landing him, although I have little doubt he goes #1 so this is all moot. And to stress your point, I don't try to trade up for him unless the price tag reflects this poor draft and is affordable.

This guy is an ELITE dribbler/passer right now. Absolutely elite. I can't think of a single prospect in this draft that has elite anything. He's got quick feet and looks to have a long reach. So if he buys in to D he could easily be better than Ben Simmons (whom I can't stand). I don't see a high bust probability and see his floor as Ricky Rubio. Ceiling could be Magic-Lite (no one is Magic), but he could hover around a triple double every night (could be, not will be).

Melo is NOT his brother. His brother has MAJOR confidence issues (but deserves tons of praise for working on his shot and D). Melo does NOT suffer from confidence issues. That dude beams confidence and seems to have a killer instinct. He has some IT moments on film, so I completely agree on the 5% all time great potential.

The fact that his shot sucks is a huge knock. But compared to the other prospects...

Once again, I hate this draft.

Yeah, with this class I'm just assuming he'll go 1,2 or 3. And keep in mind I'd give him an even higher chance of being a bust if we're the ones that draft. We all hope Monty will change the entire picture but there's no guarantees.

 

[SunnyBaller]

I guess I'm not as high on him as some but I'd give him a 5% chance not to be a bench player, there are plenty of playmakers in the league and the vast majority of them doing everything except passing better then lamelo , if the sun's pick him anywhere before 10, which he won't get to I'd be very disappointed

 

[Ronin]

LaMelo Ball reportedly top point guard on Knicks’ draft board
The Post has learned unequivocally LaMelo Ball is currently the top-rated point guard on the Knicks’ board.

That should hardly be surprising, knowing new president Leon Rose likes to shoot for the stars. Knicks officials believe the 6-foot-7 playmaker/driver has one of the higher upsides in the entire draft despite his lack of a 3-point shot. Rose has already dealt with outspoken father Lavar Ball when his sons were briefly with Creative Artists Agency

https://sports.yahoo.com/lamelo-ball-reportedly-top-point-010043981.html

 

[Phrazbit]

https://sports.yahoo.com/lamelo-ball-reportedly-top-point-010043981.html

Thank god for the Knicks. Perpetually keeping anyone else from being the most embarrassing franchise in the league.