LaMelo Ball has been in a tornado of rumors as the NBA Draft Lottery approaches, recently linked with sole interest in the New York Knicks. His manager, Jermaine Jackson, seemed to indicate the report was not true in a direct message reply on Instagram.

A tweet posted by Knicks Fan TV apparently showed Jackson denying the rumor that read “multiple teams around the league believe that LaMelo Ball's focus is to play for the Knicks.”

Jackson can't deny what other front offices believe or why they do so, but if he's shutting down this rumor, it's just him doing his due diligence as a manager.

Rule No. 1 of the draft process is to never keep a bidding war from happening, and if Ball reels enough interest, why would Jackson keep his stock from soaring by only confining him to one team, even if those were his true intentions?

A recent report from Ian Begley of SNY noted the following:

“As teams do their homework on players in the draft, there’s been a consistent theme about LaMelo Ball: multiple teams believe Ball and those in his circle prefer that he lands in New York,” wrote Begley. “Those teams have picks projected later in the first round than the Knicks, for what it’s worth.”

This rumor is believed to have started with Ball's camp and is one that his father, LaVar Ball, has reverberated during recent public appearances after noting he does not belong on the Golden State Warriors.

This only adds to the series of smoke and mirrors that is the NBA Draft process, and there will certainly be plenty more rumors flying around in the coming months.

Ball could wind up being the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, though that could wind up depending on which team wind up winning the lottery.