Balls get agent, eye playing overseas

While Lonzo Ball was a college basketball star, his father ensured that the other two sons will not be.

Li Angelo and La Melo Ball have both signed with an agent and will find a team to play for overseas, LaVar Ball told ESPN on Thursday. Harrison Gaines, who represents Lonzo, will take on his two brothers, as well. Signing with an agent makes a high school player ineligible to play college basketball with only rare exceptions.

Li Angelo, 19, was a freshman at UCLA, but was busted for shoplifting in China. His father decided they weren’t going to wait to find out the length of the indefinite suspension and removed him from the school. LaVar has proclaimed Li Angelo will enter the 2018 NBA Draft, so transferring to another school for next season was not an option.

La Melo, 16, was a junior at Chino Hills High School, but his father pulled him out of school as well over a feud with his coach. The original plan was for him to be homeschooled, but Li Angelo’s situation has changed things.

LaVar said he does not know where the two brothers will land, but there has been interest. His stipulation is he wants both to earn playing time and be on the same team.

It is hard for even the best NBA draft prospects to receive significant playing time in the top overseas leagues. Knicks rookie Frank Ntilikina was named the best young player in France in 2015-16, a year when he averaged 1.3 points per game.

Li Angelo was not ranked among the top 200 players in his high school class. La Melo is currently the No. 15 player in the Class of 2019, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.