With the NBA Draft 2020 still a long way off, speculation about the LaMelo Ball lottery has already begun to prefer to play for the New York Knicks. However, his manager, Jermaine Jackson, rejected that suggestion in a recent exchange on Instagram.
In a screenshot of the conversation shared on Twitter by Knicks Fan TV, Jackson replies “it’s a lie” to a title that was sent to him about Ball who prefers to play in New York.
Jackson actually prepared for the Knicks himself for 21 games during the 2004-05 season. After his career in the NBA, he worked as a coach, trainer and manager. He was the head coach of the SPIRE Institute in Ohio when LaMelo Ball played there as a high school.
SNY’s Ian Begley reported last week that several NBA teams screened behind the Knicks in the draft believe that Ball and those in his circle prefer to play with the Knicks.
Of course, it doesn’t take long to report to know that this is a possibility. LaMelo’s father, LaVar, recently spoke at length about the possibility of his son playing Broadway. When asked if he wanted to see LaMelo on the Knicks, he replied, “Oh yes, until the end.”
“[The Knicks] have nothing.” LaVar said on the Say Less with Kaz podcast in June. “Last time they won a championship in the 70s. The bright lights. You need a completely new twist over there. The person I want to see him play with, must know, if you’re getting ‘Melo, you’re getting’ Gelo […] And after that, you have a chance to get ‘Zo. You don’t need a person to change franchises. You need all the cultural change and that requires all three of my kids […] It would be the biggest NBA show ever. “
Ball also said on FS1’s Undisputed in early March that he thinks the Knicks are the “best fit” for the youngest child.