It appears that Lonzo Ball has no interest going #1 overall in the upcoming draft to the Boston Celtics.
According to Celtics GM Danny Ainge, Lonzo declined to work out for the team earlier in the week.
Danny Ainge says on @Toucherandrich that Lonzo Ball has informed the Celtics he will not work out for them prior to draft.
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) May 25, 2017
Via ESPN
“We don’t deal with [Ball’s camp] all that much. They didn’t show up at the combine, which is very common — many of the top 10 or 15 players don’t show up for the [NBA’s] combine. … We just tried to get him in for a workout and they politely said no.”
This isn’t much of a surprise considering LaVar Ball was vocal about Lonzo only working out for the Lakers.
“That’s all we working out for is the Lakers,” LaVar Ball told Lakers Nation earlier this month. “Just the Lakers. There’s nobody else that we need to work out for.”
The difference on a guaranteed rookie wage scale contract between the No. 1 and No. 2 picks is $2.2 million but in the long term Lonzo will likely make more money in the L.A. market.