Knicks Draft: People close to LaMelo Ball would love to see him in New York

People around LaMelo Ball would like to see him end up with the New York Knicks, according to a new report.

With the date of the 2020 NBA draft still uncertain – despite it officially still scheduled for June 25 – people inside LaMelo Ball’s circle would love to see the lottery prospect selected by the New York Knicks, according to Ian Begley of SNY.

Ball’s father LaVar – who the sports world was introduced to in 2018 when his older son Lonzo Ball was drafted second overall by the Los Angeles Lakers – has already stated publicly that New York would be a great place for LaMelo to play. According to the SNY report, there are people, outside of LaVar, who think New York would be a good fit.

The New York Knicks have LaMelo Ball as the top point guard on their draft board.

Earlier this week, the New York Post reported that Ball is “unequivocally” the Knicks top-rated point guard in the draft. The Knicks have struggled to fill the point guard position for several decades, leading back to Mark Jackson’s time with the team in the late eighties. While there have been some serviceable options over the years, from Derek Harper to Charlie Ward, the Knicks, who play in a city famous for fostering slick ball-handlers, have been searching for a franchise-leading playmaker for some time.

New York is currently slotted with the sixth best lottery odds. While the NBA considers a plan to resume the 2019-20 season, possibly in Walt Disney World, it is unclear whether the Knicks will be required to participate. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has allowed professional sports teams to reopen training camps, but the Knicks are still awaiting word from the NBA before asking players to return to the tri-state area, which has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

LaMelo Ball is projected in many mock drafts to be selected within the first several picks. If the mocks hold true and the Knicks don’t jump up the draft board, they would need to orchestrate a trade to grab their “top-rated” point guard.

The Golden State Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers recently told NBC Sports Bay Area he would “consider” trading the top pick if the Warriors ended up with it, as they currently possess the best lottery odds.

A lot of smoke around LaMelo Ball. Draft prospects have little actual say over where they are selected in the draft, but it doesn’t help to create a demand for their services to help push them up the draft board. Perhaps, with all of the latest rumors coming out, this is what is happening from the Ball camp.