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After spending a year using his mouth to write an incredible number of checks his ass couldn’t cash, LaVar Ball spent the month of June watching his master plan to turn the basketball world on its head slowly crumble before his eyes. Thanks in no small part to his atrocious workouts, LiAngelo Ball found himself without a home after the NBA Draft and forced his dad to come up with a new strategy after coming to terms with the fact that saying your son is good at basketball does not automatically make him good at basketball.
As if that wasn’t enough, the elder Ball has also had to deal with the harsh reality that nobody really cares about the JBA, the developmental league he dreamed up last year. He didn’t do himself any favors by deciding to charge laughably unjustified prices for tickets but also neglected to sign anyone with any real talent (at least according to this sequence from a recent game).
Looks like LaVar has found some hidden gems for the JBA. pic.twitter.com/QPtiOtbcX8
— Lakers Pulse (@LakersPulse) June 23, 2018
LaVar has had trouble convincing prospects to join the JBA and there’s now one more player he can add to the list of people who’ve decided to pass on his offer: his son. LiAngelo recently spoke with Nice Kicks and revealed he has no plans to get involved with his dad’s pet project, saying:
“Right now, I’m taking it day by day. I’ll be willing to play in the G League and get moved up from there. That’s an option. I’m not going to play in the JBA. I feel like that’s taking a step back for me. If I have to play in the G League, then that’s what it’s going to be. I’m not running away from the work.”
When you consider multiple NBA execs have said LiAngelo doesn’t even have what it takes to make it in the G League, there’s really only one way to react to this news.
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My thoughts and prayers go out to LaVar during this difficult time.