Australian Basketball League Clarifies That LaMelo Ball Did Not Actually Buy His Former Team

The Ball family once again dominated basketball headlines last week once news broke suggesting that LaMelo Ball, a possible No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, had purchased his former National Basketball League team down in Australia, the Illawarra Hawks.

Before having to worry about father LaVar bragging about the purchase, however, NBL CommissionerJeremy Loeliger clarified that LaMelo and his business partner, Jermaine Jackson, have not actually bought the team. Instead, Ball and Jackson are positioned among a number of potential buyers for the Wollongong-based team.

"It was a bit of misunderstanding and a miscommunication and I don't think there was any malice intended. I don't think anyone was trying to leverage the situation. I think it just snowballed and it got a little bit out of control but we've all had conversations and there's certainly no bad blood out there between anyone," said Loeliger, per the Australian Associated Press.

The erroneous news gained traction after Jackson announced the purchase of the Hawks before a deal was actually finalized. Even so, Loeliger said that Jackson jumping the gun won't have a negative impact on potential negotiations going forward.

Ball played 12 games with the Hawks this past season, averaging 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 6.8 assists, while shooting 37.5% from the field.

The future NBA guard and his manager are still in the hunt to own the Hawks, but you'll have to await official confirmation from the NBL.