Ball had been under the impression that something was in the works. He claimed that conversations with Johnson and Pelinka convinced him that LiAngelo, the middle child, would get a legitimate shot with the Lakers. It didn't have to be a full contract, but at least a Summer League look — a low-stakes opportunity and a gesture that would have gone a long way in the father's eyes.They don't even give him that opportunity," LaVar Ball said in 2019. "So that's when I was just like, 'O.K.' Whatever you guys say, you know you're not meaning nothing, because you said keep family together and then you don't even bring him in?"
His frustration was built around the idea that the franchise preached family but didn't act on it. Especially when it came to letting Lonzo and LiAngelo share the floor, even briefly.
"You at least gotta give him a chance to play with Lonzo," LaVar Ball added. "You should've at least got him in Summer League if anything. I thought he [Johnson] was gonna at least take him as the last pick."
When pressed on whether Magic and Pelinka had actually said LiAngelo would be drafted, LaVar simply said, "yes." He never pointed to a specific draft class, but considering the timeline — LiAngelo Ball went undrafted in 2018 — it likely referred to one of the two years that followed.
