Warriors: LaMelo Ball doesn’t make sense as a 2020 NBA Draft target

The Golden State Warriors will have their fair share of options in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft, but LaMelo Ball shouldn’t be one of them.

The Golden State Warriors are doing their due diligence in the months leading up to the 2020 NBA Draft. While tentatively scheduled for late June, no one really knows when the draft will take place.

But what is certain is that the Warriors will hold one of the top picks in said draft.

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They finished what is almost certain to be the end of the regular season with the NBA’s worst record at a woeful 15-50. This leaves the team with 14% odds of landing the top pick in the draft and a guarantee that they won’t pick later than fifth.

Given that they will have a top selection, the Warriors have been doing their homework on the best prospects in what is expected to be a relatively weak class. Head coach Steve Kerr indicated that the team had narrowed their options down to about seven or eight players.

Among those are sure to be Georgia guard Anthony Edwards, Memphis center James Wiseman, and Dayton forward Obi Toppin. But one player who is certainly intriguing is LaMelo Ball.

Ball is considered to be one of the top prospects in this year’s class, but his skill set might not a great fit for the Warriors. The 18-year-old spent last season playing in Australia as his road to the NBA certainly didn’t follow traditional norms.

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After originally committing to UCLA as a five-star recruit, Ball decided to forego college in favor of professional ball in Lithuania, his father LaVar’s ill-fated start-up league, and eventually Australia.

But despite this, his NBA Draft stock definitely hasn’t taken a hit.

At 6-foot-7, Ball has elite size for a point guard and he’s likely the best facilitator and ball-handler in the class. But the Warriors already have a pretty good player running the point on offense.

You may have heard of Stephen Curry before.

On top of that, perhaps Ball’s biggest weakness is his lack of consistent scoring. While he helps facilitate on the offensive end of the floor, Ball doesn’t have a very good outside shot right now and he struggles to connect from behind the arc.

And on a Warriors team that is built on floor spacing and outside shooting, it’s hard to see Ball being a fit.

Then, of course, there are the off-court concerns. The Warriors don’t seem like an organization that would be willing to take on the pending media circus that will follow Ball — through no doing of his own — wherever he goes.

It’s inevitable, but also avoidable from the Warriors’ perspective.

Why take on extra baggage for a player who would be a terrible fit for your team anyway? It just doesn’t make sense.

Ball is a very good prospect who could become a quality player for some team looking for a high-upside facilitator to run the point. The Warriors aren’t that team and for that reason, it just doesn’t seem logical for the team to consider drafting him.

Don’t expect to see Ball playing in the Bay Area by the time next season rolls around.