LaMelo Ball Rumors: Some Wonder If PG Could Fall out of Top 5 Picks in NBA Draft

Multiple reports have stated that LaMelo Ball, a potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, could potentially fall out of the top five.

Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer spoke on The Ringer NBA podcast The Mismatch and offered a soundbite from a source who works for an NBA team:

"There are a lot of people who wonder if he could fall outside the top five," O'Connor said Friday.

News about Ball's reportedly falling draft stock came Wednesday from another source: Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer spoke on Wilson & Parcell on WFNZ Radio and offered this insight (h/t Dan Feldman of NBC Sports):

"Here is what I'm hearing from the league at large: LaMelo Ball is not performing very well at job interviews. I've heard that from multiple sources. He is not improving his perception via job interview. There are people drafting later in the top 10 who were not preparing for the possibility of Ball still being around. And I'm not saying that he will not be a top-three pick. I am saying that I know for a fact that there are teams later in the top 10 who are doing more research on him, because they no longer think it's a given he will."

O'Connor cited that Bonnell report before continuing:

"I'm not sure what to make of that report, but I've heard similar that he hasn't done great in these interviews and workouts and all that. So LaMelo, as talented as he is, some teams are looking at the situation as: 'Maybe it's best to hit a single or hit a double rather than swing for the fences and possibly whiff.'

"And with LaMelo, there's that threat for him more than there is for some other guys in that top-10 conversation."

O'Connor then said it shouldn't shock anyone to see him go No. 1 or No. 8 before saying that "there is no consensus" on Ball, who is reportedly ranked all over the top 10 on big boards.

Ball arguably has the most upside out of any 2020 draft prospect, to the point where Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, Jonathan Givony of ESPN and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic (among others) rank him No. 1 on their big boards.

One issue is the lack of game tape: Ball played just 12 games for the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League and none after November 2019.

He impressively averaged 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists but also shot just 37.5 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from three-point range.

Ball suffered a bone bruise in his foot and decided to shut his season down to rehab.

The National Basketball League is a professional organization with nine teams in Australia and New Zealand, and it is home to some ex-NBA players and NCAA stars.

Ball turned 18 years old less than two months before his first NBL game, so his performance is noteworthy.

Ultimately, this year's NBA draft seems like more of a crapshoot than ever partially because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which paused professional sports across the world in March. In addition, there isn't any clear-cut can't-miss star in this year's class, although a superstar can always emerge from anywhere in the draft.

We'll soon find out where Ball lands, as the draft will take place virtually Nov. 18.