Warriors work out LiAngelo Ball and other prospects

No, I’m not doing this just for the clicks. This is honest to goodness news. On Friday, June 15, less than a week before the 2018 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors are hosting a handful of players. Most of them are not particularly memorable - this is a standard part of the draft process - but one of them stands out: LiAngelo Ball.

Ball is, of course, a celebrity of sorts. He’s the middle child of the most famous father in sports, the braggadocious LaVar Ball. His older brother, Lonzo Ball, was the second overall pick in the 2017 draft, and is beloved by fans of his Los Angeles Lakers.

LiAngelo, who was supposed to play his freshman year of college ball at UCLA this past year, was instead suspended when he and two teammates were caught shoplifting clothing while on a trip to China. He then dropped out of UCLA and, along with his younger brother LaMelo Ball, moved to Lithuania to play professionally. That didn’t last long either.

The odd part about the Warriors having Ball in for a workout is that, despite the hype created by his family, he really isn’t on anyone’s draft radar. By all accounts, he isn’t even near being a top-100 prospect in a draft that only goes for 60 players.

Still, these pre-draft workouts are often for players that won’t be drafted, since undrafted free agency happens quite quickly after the draft concludes. The Warriors want to do their due diligence with players who will be available sooner, rather than later.

So maybe we’ll see LiAngleo Ball in training camp; who knows. But I’d be shocked to see him on the Warriors - or any non-G League roster, for that matter - when the season begins.