XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, rec.arts.tv, sac.politics
XPost: alt.politics.democrats.d, soc.culture.african.american
One day after he abruptly removed his middle son from UCLA, LaVar Ball
began his quest to prepare LiAngelo for next year’s NBA draft.
Within hours came a sobering reminder that plan is probably just a pie-in-the-sky fantasy.
Among the overseas professional clubs that a representative for the
Ball family approached about signing 19-year-old LiAngelo and his
16-year-old brother LaMelo is Lietkabelis of the Lithuanian Basketball
League, general manager Mantas Ignatavicius confirmed Tuesday to Yahoo
Sports. Lietkabelis coach Arturs Stalbergs subsequently scoffed at the
idea in a since-deleted tweet that poked fun at LiAngelo’s shoplifting
arrest in China last month.
“We have an opening at the security staff since they have an
experience in this field,” Stalbergs wrote.
The tweet from Stalbergs reflects the discrepancy between how LaVar
touts LiAngelo and how scouts actually see him. LaVar has repeatedly
described LiAngelo as a one-and-done talent and a future NBA player,
but evaluators familiar with his game are skeptical that he’ll even be
able to latch on with a first-division team in Europe, let alone join
older brother Lonzo with the Los Angeles Lakers.
A Division I coach who scouted LiAngelo in high school said Tuesday
that he projected him as a small-ball power forward at a mid-major
program had UCLA not taken him as part of a package deal with his
brothers. An NBA scout familiar with LiAngelo’s game echoed that,
pegging him as “a mid-major type player” ill-prepared for professional basketball.
“No young players, with the exception of the occasional DeAndre Ayton
or Luka Doncic, are good enough to succeed in the top division
overseas or in the G League at 18 or 19 years old,” the NBA scout
said. “LiAngelo could probably play third division in Spain, France or
Germany. I doubt that’s what he has in mind.”
https://sports.yahoo.com/neither-nba-teams-top-european-clubs-likely-want-liangelo-ball-011649949.html
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)