NBA notebook: Lakers will reportedly pass on LiAngelo Ball

[June 01, 2018]  It appears LaVar Ball faces an uphill battle getting his son LiAngelo a roster spot with the Los Angeles Lakers.

LiAngelo, the younger brother of Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball and middle of three basketball-playing Ball brothers, worked out for Los Angeles on Tuesday. In the aftermath of the workout, the Lakers have no interest in drafting LiAngelo or signing the 19-year-old to play for their G League team, the South Bay Lakers, according to a report from USA Today Sports.

The 6-foot-5 LiAngelo said recently that he wanted to join his brother, the No. 2 overall pick in last summer's NBA draft, on the Lakers. LaVar, the patriarch of the Ball family, has said previously all three of his sons, including 16-year-old LaMelo, would be playing for the Lakers in 2020.

LiAngelo left UCLA during his freshman season for a Lithuanian professional league following his shoplifting arrest on a team trip to China. LiAngelo averaged 12.6 points per game for Vytautas Prienu this season.

--Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love cleared concussion protocol and started Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.

Love missed almost all of Games 6 and 7 of the Eastern Conference finals following a head-to-head collision with Boston Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum in the first quarter on Friday. Love was re-evaluated Saturday before the decision to hold him out of Sunday's Game 7, though he traveled with the team to Boston and attended the game.

Jeff Green started in Love's place against Boston and totaled 19 points and eight rebounds in Game 7. Love, 29, is averaging 13.9 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in the postseason.

--The Philadelphia 76ers and head coach Brett Brown agreed to a contract extension through the 2021-22 season, the team announced.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Brown had one season remaining on his current contract, making his new deal a three-year pact. Philadelphia went 52-30 in the regular season, the most wins for the franchise in a season since 2000-01.

Brown joined the 76ers in 2013, leading the team to its first postseason berth in six seasons this year. In the playoffs, the No. 3 seed Sixers cruised past the Miami Heat in the first round before being eliminated by the second-seeded Boston Celtics in five games in the second round.

UCLA basketball player LiAngelo Ball listens at a press conference at UCLA after flying back from China where he was detained on suspicion of shoplifting, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., November 15, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

--The National Basketball Players Association named Dr. William D. Parham its first director of mental health and wellness.

In his role, Parham will oversee the development and management of the newly launched NBPA Mental Health and Wellness Program designed to assist all members of the union in addressing any mental health challenges or issues they face.

During the current NBA season, Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan opened up about his bouts with depression and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love wrote about his experience with panic attacks and anxiety. Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue discussed before the start of the NBA Finals his absence from the bench, which was caused in part by anxiety.

--All-Stars DeMar DeRozan and Joel Embiid headline the rosters for this year's NBA exhibition in the South African capital of Pretoria on Aug. 4, the league announced.

DeRozan, of the Toronto Raptors, will lead a Team World roster that includes Dallas Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes, San Antonio Spurs forward Rudy Gay, Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton, Los Angeles Clippers forward Danilo Gallinari and Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside.
 

Embiid, a native of Cameroon, will play alongside Philadelphia 76ers teammate Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Portland Trail Blazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu, Orlando Magic center Bismack Biyombo and guard Evan Fournier, New Orleans Pelicans forward Cheick Diallo and Raptors forwards Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam on Team Africa. Full rosters will be announced at a later date.

--Field Level Media

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