On Thursday, SNY’s Ian Begley reported that “more teams believe that LaMelo Ball and those in his circle prefer to land in New York” with the Knicks.
But over the weekend, Ball Jermaine Jackson’s manager shot down that voice, calling it “a lie”.
Jackson may deny the reports, but LaMelo’s father, LaVar Ball, has already said on more than one occasion that he thinks the Knicks would be perfect.
“The bright lights, East Coast. If everything aligns perfectly, the Knicks get the first choice and bring LaMelo and LiAngelo with him and somehow bring Lonzo in the long term,” he said in May on the Load Management podcast (h / t SNY). “Shoot: Triple B. The Ball Brothers on Broadway.”
In May, Marc Berman of the New York Post reported that “some league sources believe the football field will try to lead the Knicks 18-year-old guard.”
From a purely commercial point of view, it is not surprising that LaVar Ball would like his son in a large market like New York. From a basketball perspective, it would also make a lot of sense, as the Knicks need to add a game point guard to their list.
They have a good chance of ending up with a top four pick, though at 21-45, they ended up with the NBA’s sixth worst record, which could hurt their chances of being able to select Ball. It is expected that he will be one of the first players selected in this year’s draft and, depending on the form, he may even reach the first place overall.
So there is certainly no guarantee that the team may even be able to select it. But despite Jackson’s comments, it appears that LaVar Ball wants to bring the younger son to the Knicks if there is any chance of this happening.