The basketball-playing Ball brothers reportedly have new representation.
Jermaine Jackson, the manager of NBA draft prospect LaMelo Ball, told ESPN on Monday that LaMelo, Lonzo and LiAngelo Ball all reached agreements to join Roc Nation Sports, the agency overseen by media mogul Jay-Z.
"This was a family decision," Jackson, a former NBA player, told ESPN. "This is now an extended family. They put together a beautiful game plan with Jay-Z. The basketball game is about to change. They are going to create something totally new."
Roc Nation's Raymond Brothers will serve as the main agent for the Ball brothers, according to Jackson.
"We talked to several agents, but the family had good vibes with Roc Nation," Jackson told ESPN. "I've known Jay-Z since I played for the Knicks, but this is what the kids wanted to do. Jay-Z is a master at what he does. He's global. It's power beyond power.
The Ball brothers were represented by Creative Artists Agency before leaving the company last month, per multiple media reports. The move followed agent Leon Rose's exit from CAA to become the New York Knicks' president.
Depending upon the denouement of the NBA season, which is currently suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Knicks could have a shot at drafting LaMelo Ball, 18. ESPN and NBAdraft.net both list the youngest Ball brother as the No. 2 prospect for this year's draft.
LaMelo Ball left Chino Hills (Calif.) High School after his sophomore season, and he spent the past two years playing professionally in Lithuania and Australia in addition to competing for the Los Angeles Ballers of the Junior Basketball Association, which was founded by his father, LaVar.
"Right now Melo is focused on the weight room and working on his game training with LaVar," Jackson told ESPN. "His father is doing a phenomenal job. He already put seven pounds of muscle on him. He's working out with Lonzo and (LiAngelo) trying to get ready for whatever comes next. He's grown half an inch in the last few months."
Lonzo Ball, 22, is in the middle of his third NBA season, his first with the New Orleans Pelicans. He is averaging a career-high 12.4 points to go along with 6.2 rebounds, seven assists and 1.45 steals per game.
He played the previous two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, who selected him second overall in the 2017, before he was dealt to New Orleans in the Anthony Davis trade.
LiAngelo Ball, 21, had a brief stint at UCLA before playing in Lithuania and with the Los Angeles Ballers. Most recently, he was on the roster of the Oklahoma City Blue but had yet to get into a game with the G League team when play was halted due to the pandemic.
Field Level Media/Reuters
LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball combined to score 29 points in their professional basketball debut for Lithuanian club Prienai Vytautas on Tuesday.
LiAngelo, 19, started and scored 19 points on 8-of-19 shooting, while younger brother LaMelo, 16, had 10 points and nine assists but turned the ball over six times.
LaMelo finished 4-for-10 from the field, and Prienai Vytautas beat Zalgiris' second division team 90-80 in front of a crowd of about 1,500 people, including the boys' father, LaVar Ball, and his wife, Tina.
Vytautas recently formed the Big Baller Brand Challenge, a series of five "friendly" games to welcome the brothers to the team. Vytautas normally plays in both the Lithuanian and Baltic leagues, with the Baltic featuring lower-level competition.
However, soon after the boys joined the team, Vytautas withdrew from the Baltic league.
Last week, LaVar Ball predicted that all three of his sons would be playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, the year LaMelo would be eligible for the NBA draft.
The oldest Ball brother, Lonzo, is currently a rookie with the Lakers, and LiAngelo is draft-eligible this year. As LaVar told the reporter he spoke to, "'Gelo will be (a Laker) this year."
Those comments came before LaVar made waves in the Lakers organization by criticizing head coach Luke Walton, telling ESPN the 37-year-old has lost the team.
"You can see they're not playing for Luke no more," Ball told ESPN. "Luke doesn't have control of the team no more. They don't want to play for him.
"Nobody wants to play for him. I can see it. No high-fives when they come out of the game. People don't know why they're in the game. He's too young. He's too young. ... He ain't connecting with them anymore. You can look at every player, he's not connecting with not one player."
In the wake of his remarks regarding Walton, LaVar has drawn a good deal of criticism, including from NBA legend Reggie Miller, who told the Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday that Lakers GM Magic Johnson should step up to LaVar and threaten to trade Lonzo if the father doesn't tone it down.
"This is a chance for Magic Johnson to absolutely put his foot down and put an end to this," Miller said. "He could really destroy LaVar if he really wanted to. I would go close to almost threatening, 'If you keep opening your mouth ... we are going to trade your son from the Lakers.'
"I hope (LaVar is) enjoying his European vacation, and his sons are enjoying playing over in Lithuania, because those two, in my opinion, have no shot at playing in the NBA."
Vytautas' next game is Saturday night in a Lithuanian league contest at Lietkabelis that counts in the standings. That said, it's unclear how much playing time LiAngelo and LaMelo will receive.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Three US college basketball players detained in China for shoplifting publicly apologized Wednesday and thanked President Donald Trump for helping secure their release.
Trump had personally asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to intervene to free UCLA's LiAngelo Ball -- the younger brother of Los Angeles Lakers rookie star Lonzo Ball -- and teammates Cody Riley and Jalen Hill, who were arrested last Tuesday in Hangzhou.
The trio were held on suspicion of stealing from a Louis Vuitton store and later freed on bail but ordered to remain in the picturesque Chinese city.
Shoplifting can bring jail time in China depending on the value of the goods.
On Wednesday, all three admitted their guilt at a news conference in Los Angeles, one day after returning home.
"I take full responsibilities for the mistake that I made, shoplifting. I know that this goes beyond me letting my school down but I let the entire country down," said Riley.
"Before I thank everybody who worked so incredibly hard helping us returning home safely, I want to thank the Chinese government and the police for taking care of us. And to President Trump and the United States government, thank you for taking the time to intervene on our behalf."
Ball told reporters he had not exercised his "best judgment" and vowed never to repeat the "stupid decision" to steal, also thanking Trump, as well as the Chinese police and UCLA.
"This does not define who I am. My family raised me better than that and I am going to make myself a better person from here on out," he added.
Hill told reporters he wanted to be known for his love of basketball rather than "this dumb mistake."
"This incident has changed me in a way that I cannot describe. I have so much more respect from the people around me from coaches and staff and the fans of UCLA," he said.
UCLA head coach Steve Alford said the trio had been suspended indefinitely and would not travel with the team or suit up for home games.
Alford thanked "President Trump and his administration for their nonstop efforts" in resolving the case.
Earlier Wednesday, Trump tweeted about his role in urging Xi to secure the trio's release.
"Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!" Trump mused.
The case drew attention in the United States due to the involvement of Ball, one of three high-profile basketball-playing sons of LaVar Ball.
The elder Ball has become a media personality by aggressively promoting his sons as future NBA superstars and had travelled to China on the trip to promote his Big Baller Brand shoe and apparel line.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
