Written by Dan Witzel at YahooSports.com
The Boston Celtics own the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft. UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball is projected to be one of the top two or three picks.
The Celtics wanted to work out Ball before making a decision. In a bold and unusual power play, that isn’t going to happen.
Ball recently informed the team he would not work out for it prior to the draft, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge told Boston radio show Toucher & Rich on Wednesday.
“We tried to get him in for a workout and they politely declined,” Ainge said.
The Celtics can still select him No. 1 overall. “We’ve drafted guys who wouldn’t come in for workouts before,” Ainge said. “It’s not the end of the world.”
It’s just clear Ball is doing everything he can to discourage the idea. His hometown Los Angeles Lakers, the oft-stated preferred destination of his outspoken father, LaVar, picks No. 2.
LaVar has said repeatedly he wants Lonzo to be a Laker. He craves the media market, he seeks Magic Johnson to serve as a mentor and he is concerned about the logjam of guards in Boston. He also wants to keep Lonzo close to the family home in an effort to promote the family’s Big Baller Brand shoe and clothing line. Lonzo’s two younger brothers are set to follow him at UCLA.
LaVar wants to control the process, Southern California style.
“I hope [the Celtics] don’t take [Lonzo],” LaVar Ball said earlier this month on Fox Sports Radio. “Markelle Fultz is the perfect pick for them. He’s the best player. Take him.”
Fultz is a guard out of the University of Washington who’s also considered one the best prospects in the draft.
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