Report: Golden State Lied to LaMelo Ball on Draft Night

LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets is on his way to winning Rookie of the Year, it turns out at one point he never thought he would be playing for the Hornets this season. According to Jalen Rose, Ball was told by the Golden State Warriors they were selecting him with the #2 pick. The Warriors ended up drafting James Wiseman instead, after completely misleading Ball.

“The night of the draft, the Golden State Warriors told LaMelo Ball they were going to take him next, and they didn’t do it...That story going to come out soon.”

-Jalen Rose. 👀👀

(via @JalenandJacoby, h/t @TopBallCoverage) pic.twitter.com/QGVvRJEb1k
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 9, 2021

Rose mentioned this statement on a episode of the Jalen and Jacoby Podcast as Rose is close to the Ball family and was made aware of the broken promise.

And I'll give the Golden State Warriors a nod too. I like what they've been doing too. And I know they could have taken LaMelo, but I know why they didn't. And by the way, the night of the draft, the Golden State Warriors told LaMelo Ball they were going to take him next and they didn't do it. That story gonna come out soon.

Wiseman was the choice. Wiseman is the choice. They need height. When you've got Draymond playing point-center. They need height. They need tall men to play against Anthony Davis, The Joker [Nikola Jokic], [Joel] Embiid, Giannis [Antetokounmpo]. Like, they need height. And so he was the right pick for them but that didn't stop them from telling LaMelo Ball they were taking him. Just so you know, right after they got off the phone with LaMelo Ball's team and telling them they were going to take him, I was a part of the next call. As a matter of fact, I sent an internal text to our producer on Countdown and told them that. And then 3, 2, 1, the pick happens and they didn't do it. True story.