5. Cleveland Cavaliers: LaMelo Ball, PG, Illawarra Hawks
Ah, the next Ball brother.
Although the worry that LaVar and Co. will get too involved in his marketing campaign as the NBA Draft nears is a real fear, all indications are that LaMelo Ball wants to live more of his own life and let his game do the talking.
And that’s exactly what’s happening overseas, as he’s putting up near triple-double efforts on a nightly basis in Australia’s NBL.
Pure production isn’t Ball’s issue by any means. He can put up raw numbers and box scores to impress the average observer.
Initial returns on his performances suggest he has enough to work on, even if the talent base is a little ridiculous.
Ball now stands at 6’7″, making him the tallest of the three brothers. He possesses some of the same uncanny vision, ball handling and passing instincts that carried Lonzo Ball to the pros and when his outside shot is on and he’s aggressive hunting for his own scoring opportunities, he looks the part of a guy who teams should take seriously selecting first overall.
But that’s the thing, at this moment in time he isn’t always hungry enough to leave his mark on the game. Playing timid on offense like Lonzo isn’t the best idea for LaMelo and it doesn’t bode well to any front office executives to roll the dice on him if they weren’t enamored with ‘Zo in the first place.
If he can bring enough to the table scoring wise and on defense, he’ll rise up mock drafts everywhere and validate some scouts deeming him worthy of a higher selection.