LaMelo Ball was a global sensation in the NBL. With possibly being the most talented player in this draft, Should the Chicago Bulls draft LaMelo Ball?
LaMelo Ball has become one of the highest-rated recruits in this year’s NBA draft, Ball is projected as a top-3 pick with only a very small sample size of only 12 games as the biggest success story to come out of the NBL Next Stars program. Ball averaged 17.0 points per game, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game while playing for the small working-class town in New South Wales, Australia with the Illawarra Hawks of the NBL.
In his time down under, Ball was on full display to the world and took that opportunity to show what he could do in a professional league, with the likes of and playing against past NBA players such as Aaron Brooks, Miles Plumlee, Scott Machado, Mitch Creek and Shawn Long.
Ball only playing 12 games due to a foot injury that led to him cutting his season early to rehab in preparation for the draft. The Hawks only won three while he was active.
LaMelo Ball was the star of the show and had the ball in his hands often, with a usage percentage of 27.73, which ranked ninth overall in the NBL regular season. Watching all of Ball’s games and the rest of the NBL season, he jacked shots, hijacked the offense and was inattentive of defense.
There’s a lot of hype around LaMelo and with the recent draft lottery, we can see where the pieces start to fall and with the Minnesota Timberwolves landing the No. 1 pick. The Timberwolves with recently trading for D’Angelo Russell (another ball-dominant, non-defending point guard) to pair with All-Star Karl Anthony-Towns, it’s hard to see LaMelo Ball joining the dynamic duo of non-defenders.
The same applies for the teams that landed the second and third overall picks in the Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets. The Warriors want to contend and will likely use that pick to add veteran talent to their team rather than take on a project in LaMelo Ball.
Charlotte paid Terry Rozier $58 million dollars. Along with the unexpected rise of Devonte’ Graham, it’s hard to see the Hornet draft Ball to plug him into the already full backcourt.
Speaking of Michael Jordan, that leaves the fourth luckiest team with a solid chance (if they don’t trade up, which could happen) the Chicago Bulls to draft LaMelo Ball. So, should the Chicago Bulls draft LaMelo Ball?
How LaMelo Ball fits with the Chicago Bulls
LaMelo Ball is the best overall playmaker in this draft and his highlights show how incredibly impossible he could be to guard as a lead playmaker in the NBA.
This clip shows what Ball could do in the pick and pop with Lauri Markkanen, the drawing of the defense allowed teammate David Andersen to stretch to the top of the arc, with Ball drawing both players to him almost immediately. Ball is great at improvising in both the half and full-court.
One can see Ball running this with Markkanen every game as Tomas Satoransky did a similar play with him this season… when Jim Boylen actually used Markkanen.
Both Wendell Carter Jr. and Markkanen can play in the paint and rim run and unlock some of Ball’s best passing. Ball drove and dumped absolute dimes to his admittedly unathletic bigs while in the NBL. If a 39-year-old can finish these passes, the Bulls frontcourt can too.
There’s an obvious ability for ridiculous show-time like passes but there is also nuance in Ball’s playmaking shown here; with Anderson outmaneuvering the defender and with the slightest indication Ball was able to deliver a bullet past the rookie and draft prospect Kouat Noi.
The connection between Ball and Zach LaVine could be Lonzo Ball and Zion Williamson-Esque. The NBL doesn’t have as many high flyers as the NBA so any comparisons would be moot. However, with LaVine, Wendall and Ball all running the full court, it could be a hail storm of dunks.
There is a gold mine of fast-break highlights from Ball’s season in the NBL which may convince you, and the Bulls front office that there’s a real chance that LaMelo Ball’s fast-break abilities could unlock this team. Especially considering Boylen had the Bulls at the third slowest pace in the league.
The last guy is Coby White, who has been one of the better rookies this season. His ability to shoot has been historical for a rookie, especially in February where he averaged 20.1 points per game. Sliding White up to the shooting guard and becoming the secondary playmaker would reduce White’s playmaking responsibilities and allow him to develop and do what he does best, shoot.
White didn’t have many catch-and-shoot opportunities as you’d like with only 3.9 a game. His percentages were great for a rookie as he had a 54.7 effective field goal percentages and shot 37.0 percentages from three in catch and shoot situations.
Ball typically only got his teammates shooting from three when in a pick and roll situation. Unless White is left alone (which doesn’t happen often) it would require some great ball movement to get him open.
Illawarra didn’t have much ball movement so it’s hard to show from the small sample size, but these offensive rebounds show how dangerous a backcourt of Ball and White backcourt could be.
You may have picked up on that those were all offensively focused examples, and that’s for a reason. Ball didn’t show much determination or focus on the other end, so let’s look at why LaMelo Ball may not fit with the Chicago Bulls team.
Reasons why LaMelo Ball might not fit on the Chicago Bulls.
As mention prior, LaMelo Ball is very much a prospect, an undisciplined prospect on both offense and defense. When it comes to his scoring, he shot abysmally at 37.0 percent from the field and 24.0 percent from three with 6.8 attempts per game.
For someone as bullish as Ball is to score, it has not translated in winning basketball or even statically reasonable basketball. Ball averaged 16.6 field goal attempts per game in the NBL and was tied for third in most field goals attempted per game.
For LaMelo to be successful on the Bulls, or anywhere he must have better shot-selection and reduce his attempts. He suffers from the ‘too early in the shot clock’ syndrome. With 17-20 seconds on the clock, he’s hoisting threes.
He can make the occasional deep three but he doesn’t make them as consistently as Damiam Lillard, Stephen Curry or Trae Young.
Ball’s off-ball offense is a major work in progress. When Aaron Brooks left the team with a torn Achilles tendon, Ball was completely dominated by … Ball. He hasn’t experienced life without the rock, which would be an issue when playing with Zach LaVine and Coby White.
On defense, Ball particularly struggles with getting caught on screens and non-ball handling defenders. His switchability should be great with his passing IQ and size but is often left ball watching and exposed in simple actions.
For the Bulls to draft Ball, they’ll need to acknowledge and address his frequency of shooting and his shot selection on offense. On defense, Ball will require a lot of attention and discipline to become a switchable guard despite his 6’7” frame.
So, after contrasting his pros and cons should the Bulls draft LaMelo Ball?
Should the Chicago Bulls draft LaMelo Ball?
The synopsis on LaMelo Ball is that he is an otherworldly and gifted passer. He will be compared to Ben Simmons, Luka Doncic and Trae Young as the best passer this generation. On the other hand, Ball is lacking any sort of restraint when it comes to his shot selection and his overall defense especially with gambling on steals.
Ball can become an efficient thief, having averaged 1.6 steals per game in the NBL. Far too often it is a gamble when they pay off, though it can be excellent and his steals almost always cause extremely effective and entertaining fast breaks.
There’s no real perfect pick for the Bulls or a perfect pick for any team for that matter in this draft. That’s why Ball could possibly slip and land at No.4 for the Chicago Bulls.
On the court, it fits relatively nicely with a true point guard for a team of young talented players with no real leadership, both on and off the court. The Bulls have many guards but none are great playmakers as Tomas Satoransky led the team in assists per game with 5.4. Ball has already displayed elite vision in a professional environment, and in the NBA these players will finish more of dimes that Ball darts to them.
Having LaMelo control the ball while LaVine and Wendell Carter rim run and having Coby White and Lauri Markkanen trailing is a recipe for points and highlights galore.
Ball is immediately a rating-boosting and highlight factory for any team that drafts him. With a new front office and for a franchise that had the least amount of nationally televised games this season, it would make sense to bring in LaMelo Ball.
The NBL’s most-watched game in history with two million views was the head to head matchup against the Next Stars of LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton. If the NBL can get two million viewers on a single game, imagine the numbers for a full Bulls season?
It would make sense for the Bulls to want to bring a bigger audience from the couch. They have historically been a great home attendance team. This especially could be a cash cow after the international success of the Last Dance documentary on the 1998 Chicago Bulls.
This could be a new era for the Chicago Bulls reflecting on the best of their past and now the best of their future.