Detroit Pistons: The pros and cons of drafting LaMelo Ball

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Lamelo Ball of the Hawks celebrates hitting a three point shot (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images) /

The cons of drafting Ball

The things that make LaMelo such an interesting and elite prospect are often the same things that turn people off on the idea of drafting him. It’s sometimes that his highs are really high, but his lows are too low and sometimes point out the real flaws.

For example, Ball is undoubtedly a gifted passer. One of the best in recent memory. However, his flashiness sometimes gets him into trouble, whether it’s forcing a pass in a well defended lane, or trying to more creative than what is necessary.

Because of this, while he’s not considered to be turnover prone he’ll most definitely need to develop a more fundamental approach to the game whenever the situation calls for it, otherwise he could go down hill fast.

His ability to create space off the dribble is remarkable, but when it leads to him heaving up an ill-advised three-pointer or slows down his first step to the basket, it becomes a legitimate issue.

Ball’s offensive range is limitless, but so is his shot selection. He’s easily able to get into the shooting threshold of 15-25 shots per game.

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If he were to be drafted by the Pistons, that’s an issue. Detroit doesn’t have enough playmakers around for Ball t comfortably defer to them offensively. They don’t have a way to control his shot volume and his inefficiency could hurt them and stunt his growth.

For example if he were to be drafted by the Golden State Warriors (a real possibility) then the sheer talent that surrounds him would effectively ramp up his development. His shot volume would be under control but he’d still be productive with his facilitating.

The biggest issue that surrounds Ball and his potential at the next level is his defense. When watching him play, some fans and experts have joked that he doesn’t play defense at all, but it’s not true.

If he didn’t gamble so much on his opponent or in passing lanes, we could bump his defensive stance from “worrisome” to “a work in progress”. He’s decent with close outs, his rotating is solid, but when he’s away from the ball, he tends to check out.

This is all fixable and he’s not a lost cause. However as it stands, if you’re drafting him it’s more so for his offensive abilities than it is anything else.

LaMelo Ball will soon become a top pick in the NBA Draft, but his fit with Detroit could be in question.

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