The Los Angeles Lakers announced Thursday night that they would not invite LiAngelo Ball to play for their summer league team, ESPN reports.
Ball worked out with the Lakers and with the Golden State Warriors with the hope that he would land one of the summer league rosters. The Lakers informed Ball on Thursday night that they would not offer him a spot in summer league.
As the younger brother of Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball, there has been speculation within the NBA that LiAngelo Ball has had been given opportunities for reasons bigger than basketball. ESPN reports that the Lakers told Ball they would evaluate him on a “merit-based system.”
There is a possibility that Ball could play for another team’s summer league squad, but it seems unlikely at this point.
For now, he could either go back to Lithuania and play another season there, or he could try and work his way up through the NBA G-League, if he were to be offered a spot with another team.
It should be quite interesting to hear what LaVar Ball says about his son being undrafted and being denied a chance to play this summer.