LiAngelo Ball interviewing with the Phoenix Suns at the Pro Basketball Combine adds another element to the club’s already eventful offseason.
This is the time that NBA draft prospects try to make a name for themselves. LiAngelo Ball is one of those prospects that apparently made an impression at the Pro Basketball Combine. He had a pretty good offensive performance according to Andrew Joseph of USA Today.
Besides having an overall solid showing and having solid measurements, he also interviewed with two NBA teams, one of which was the Phoenix Suns according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. Regardless if the general manager Ryan McDonough and the team’s front office were doing their due diligence or if there is actually interest in Ball, there are multiple aspects to adding Lonzo Ball‘s little brother.
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In the past, I have written that the Suns should trade the 59th pick of the draft to the Lakers so that they could draft the younger Ball brother. However, if the Suns front office decides that it would be in the team’s best interest to add him, then there are several ways the Suns could go about doing so. The most obvious way of doing so is to draft him with the 59th pick. However, Scott Bordow of azcentral tweeted that he doesn’t think it’s likely that Ball gets selected in the draft by the Suns. In my personal opinion, the Suns probably should use that pick on a prospect that has more potential and could be a better draft-and-stash option.
The best option for the Suns to add Ball would be having him on the Summer League roster. If he performs well then the Suns could sign him to a non-guaranteed contract or a two-way contract, either type of contract would be a good option. If not then no love loss and they could cut ways with Ball.
However, if the Suns were to add Ball for next season, then having him play for the Northern Arizona Suns (NAS) either on a two-way contract or under contract for the NAS would be best for both parties.
Ball played solid over in Europe, he averaged 12.6 points and shot 41.5 percent from the 3-point line. If developed properly in the G-League with the NAS, Ball may eventually be a 10th or 11th man off the bench for Phoenix. He has the potential to be a solid 3-point shooter, but he still needs a lot of development in other areas of his game.
With that being said, there is absolutely no way he should be on Phoenix’s roster next season. Ball is too raw at this point to be on any NBA roster, including the Suns. The Suns already have Davon Reed and Troy Daniels under contract for next season, so having Ball on the active roster would be pointless.
Ball would be best served in the G-League next season and not with the Phoenix Suns. If McDonough wants Ball to be a part of the Suns organization, it should be through the team’s G-League affiliate.
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Hopefully, the Phoenix Suns were just doing their due diligence in interviewing LiAngelo Ball. If Phoenix has any serious consideration about adding Ball, then they should first have him on the Summer League roster as an undrafted free agent and depending on how that goes the team could have him play for the NAS next season if they really like him. However, Ball shouldn’t be on Phoenix’s roster for any reason next season.