2020 NBA Draft: Will it be Bulls or Pistons for LaMelo Ball? Debate on the point guard's destination heats up
With a week left before the 2020 NBA Draft, LaMelo Ball is one of the picks whose new destination is widely debated. At the moment, it is unclear where the 19-year-old will end up. The 6-foot-7 point guard was looked at by most team execs as the first pick and, according to ESPN, that's a decision to wait for on whether the Minnesota Timberwolves will acquire Ball or trade up to sign him in as part of their roster.
Mock drafts and popular opinions see Ball probably heading to the Chicago Bulls, the Detroit Pistons, or the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Ball comes in with ample recognition— NBL Rookie of the Year (2020), JBA champion (2018), and JBA All-Star (2018). He suited up for the Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, California in his freshman season and notched up 27 points as a starter. In his sophomore season, Ball scored 92 points in a win over Los Osos High School creating a record for the second-most single-game points in California high school history.
In 2018, he played in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created by his father, before returning to high school as a senior with SPIRE Academy in Geneva. Ball, a five-star recruit opted to forgo college basketball amid eligibility concerns and play for the Illawarra Hawks in 2019. The move though worked for him as he grabbed the NBL Rookie of the Year. The point guard does have some impressive stats coming into the draft.
The NBL saw him average 17 points, 7.6 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 2.5 turnovers per game while shooting 37.5 percent. His time with the Lithuanian Basketball League in 2017-18 saw him play eight games averaging 6.5 PPG, 1.1 RPG, and 2.4 assists. The pattern is simple: More games for Ball just see him get better. The Bulls have the No 4 pick while Thunder is at No 25, however, according to the New York Post. they have multiple first-round picks in the future owing to the Russell Westbrook trade.
To add to the strong speculation that Ball would be a Bulls man was KC Johnson's thoughts. The Bulls insider said: "I personally do believe that if LaMelo is on the board or somehow gets to (No) 4, that he absolutely will be the pick," Johnson said. "The Bulls are, from what I've been told from people around the league, the impression is the Bulls are absolutely going to address the point guard position this offseason. Whether that's through the draft or free agency, I don't know the answer to that.
"There's even now a rumor today that the Bulls are contemplating trading up to (No) 1 because they have to get LaMelo Ball... If LaMelo is on the board, I absolutely see the Bulls taking him. To me, he would have to be their number one rated point guard," Johnson added.
What are your thoughts on Ball heading to the Bulls?