New York Knicks: Positives and Negatives of Drafting LaMelo Ball

The New York Knicks could potentially go for LaMelo Ball in the 2020 NBA Draft, but is it the right move?

The New York Knicks currently hold the sixth-best lottery odds, with a 37% chance of moving up into the top four picks. If that happens, they could have their sights set on point guard LaMelo Ball, younger brother of Pelicans guard, Lonzo Ball.

Even if they don’t receive any lottery luck, general manager Leon Rose has ammunition to trade up as the Knicks own seven first-round picks over the next four years. It appears that the 18-year old point guard would certainly prefer New York as his draft destination.

The youngest Ball brother is one of the most polarizing youngsters in the pool of prospects. The strengths of his game are just as noticeable as his weaknesses, leaving scouts to predict which aspects of his playstyle will get better or worse as he transitions to the NBA.

His path to the draft has been rocky, to say the least. Ball withdrew from high school after committing to UCLA, decided to play overseas in Lithuania for a short while before returning back home to suit up for the Junior Basketball Association. After that he played at Spire Academy and then he opted to join the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian NBL.

After suffering a foot injury with six games left on the schedule, Ball made the decision to forgo the remainder of the season so that he could prepare for the NBA draft. This brought an end to one of the most eventful pre-draft careers of any top prospect in years.

Here is both the good and bad that would come with potentially drafting LaMelo Ball.