NBA lottery pick LaMelo Ball says his shot isn’t broken, and he could fit with Hornets
If the Charlotte Hornets end up with LaMelo Ball, you can count on this:
He will show no lack of confidence and conviction.
In a 24-minute media session Monday, Ball said ...
▪ He doesn’t need to fix his shooting form, which was widely criticized from his play last season in Australia.
▪ He is a fit for any NBA team — from the title contender Golden State Warriors to a starless one (such as the Hornets).
▪ He “doesn’t really care” about numerous perceptions of him and his family, which once was the subject of a reality show.
As far as his bombastic father, LaVar, he said this in regard to dad calling the Warriors, with the second pick, a bad fit:
“I’m my own man. He’s his own man. He has his opinions. I have mine,” Ball said. “I feel like I can play on any team, and do good anywhere I go.”
The Hornets hold the No. 3 pick in the Nov. 18 NBA draft. General manager Mitch Kupchak has said repeatedly that he will select the top talent available, regardless of position.
Point guard — Ball’s optimal position — is a spot where the Hornets already have Devonte Graham and Terry Rozier. At 6-foot-7, Ball could play on and off the ball and has the size to potentially defend shooting guards.
However, if you are drafting Ball, you are doing so for him to be your primary ballhandler/playmaker. Shaky as he is shooting (38% from the field and 27% from 3-point range last season), he has a rare gift for seeing and executing passes. While the Hornets’ overall ball-movement improved late last season, this is a team heavily in need of help scoring in the half-court.
Kupchak has said this team’s greatest need isn’t positional, it’s overall talent. In a draft class that’s relatively weak, there’s a distinct chance Ball will be gone before the Hornets select — either to the Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 1 or to the Warriors (or a team trading with them) at No. 2.
What if he’s there when the Hornets select?
“Definitely,” Ball said of fitting in with the Hornets. “I can play with them, too. Anything.”
Ball didn’t say whether he has yet interacted with the Hornets. The NBA allows teams to do virtual interviews, such as Zoom calls, with draft candidates. It’s dicey whether the league will allow the traditional player visits to individual markets for workouts between now and draft night.
Different path
At 19, Ball has taken a different path from most draft prospects. He signed with a pro team in Lithuania at 16, and later played for the Illawarra Hawks in Australia. Now, he’s following older brother, Lonzo, a guard with the New Orleans Pelicans, to the NBA.
There is a Charlotte connection of sorts: His father, LaVar was a tight end on the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad for two months in 1995. Since then, Ball has become a TV personality, turning a boisterous, combative persona into an apparel brand. LaMelo is conscious of not letting the buzz around his family interfere with his draft run-up.
“There’s a whole lot of stuff out here that, you won’t even know if it’s me or not,” Ball said, of what teams ask him in job interviews.
“All the stuff in the media about how I am — they just want to know” what is and isn’t accurate.
Shooting issue
It’s possible to excel as an NBA point guard with a faulty jump shot; Hall of Famer Jason Kidd did it early in his career. However, with the NBA increasingly valuing 3-point accuracy, not only for its scoring value, but for spacing, Ball really needs to address his jump shot.
He didn’t seem concerned Monday.
“Nope,” Ball asserted, when asked if he needs to change his shooting form.
Wherever he’s drafted, he’ll likely hear otherwise from his new coaches.
This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 4:18 PM.
