De'Aaron Fox Deletes Tweet Appearing to Criticize Lonzo Ball for Groin Injury

Sacramento Kings rookie De'Aaron Fox appeared to react on Twitter to the news that Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball wouldn't play in the teams' Las Vegas Summer League matchup Monday night but then deleted the tweet.

Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times shared the social media post:

Sam Amick of USA Today reported Ball will sit out the contest to rest a sore groin. It would have been the third meeting of the two guards in little more than seven months; UCLA and Kentucky faced off twice last season.

Fox dominated those two matchups, which the teams split, averaging 29.5 points, 6.5 assists and 1.5 turnovers. That included a dominant 39-point performance in a Sweet 16 victory against the Bruins. Ball averaged 12 points, 7.5 assists and five turnovers in the two contests.

Beyond the stats, Ball seemed incapable of handling Fox's speed and explosiveness on either end of the court, while Fox continuously attacked Ball whenever the UCLA point guard was defending him.

So, it's hard not to read into Fox's since-deleted tweet. Was the Kings' point guard throwing some shade and suggesting Ball was ducking the matchup?

That may have been the angle of Fox's emoji, but it's unlikely Ball would avoid a summer-league game against a player he'll surely face countless times in his career. And as Amick reported, "Ball's groin injury is not believed to be serious, but the Lakers are expected to play it safe and give him some rest."

A rubber match between Fox and Ball in the summer league may have been fun, but not if it came at the expense of making a minor injury a bigger one. In any event, fans will have to wait until at least Oct. 8 to see the pair do battle—that's when the Kings and Lakers will play a preseason contest.