After going undrafted in the recently-concluded NBA Draft, it is clear that not even Los Angeles, California-based basketball league BIG3 wants any part of LiAngelo Ball. This message came from the league's founder itself, rapper/actor Ice Cube.
Ice Cube recently spoke with Nir Regev of Fansided and made it abundantly clear that his league is not looking for the likes of LiAngelo Ball and other undrafted hopefuls.
“No. We feel like that’s what the G-League is for, and what the NBA is for. You know, players that have the potential to play basketball at the highest level, we don’t want to start plucking from that group of talent. What we want is players who’ve already played in the NBA, who’ve already reached a certain level.”
To be fair to Ice Cube, he does appear to have the best intentions here. He obviously does not want to get in the way of (or be of any assistance to) promising young athletes and their NBA dream.
Ice Cube has a very specific depiction of the players he wants in his league, and unfortunately for LiAngelo Ball, who's name does carry a lot of weight, he is just does not fit the bill.
“Ones who could come in and bring a fanbase with them. As well, as fulfilling the promise of letting players play with their peers, we don’t want this to turn into a pro-am league or anything like that. We want this to be a place where players want to come play.”
At the end of the day, it's about the league's business model. Ice Cube understands his market, and is determined to stay focused on his league's/company's objectives. This is what has made him such a successful businessman throughout the years.
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