Ainge: Lonzo Ball 'politely' declined workout with Celtics

Everyone knows the plan is for Lonzo Ball to join the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 2 pick, so he doesn't think there's much of a point in trying out for anyone else.

The Boston Celtics, holders of the No. 1 selection by way of the Brooklyn Nets, weren't granted an opportunity to see the UCLA standout point guard, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge revealed Thursday on "Toucher and Rich."

"We just tried to get him in for a workout and they politely said no," Ainge said of Ball and his representatives.

Skipping workouts is not at all uncommon, nor does it rule out a potential union. Ball would prefer to join the Lakers, but he's ultimately at the mercy of the Celtics and Lakers to draft accordingly.

"It's not ideal," Ainge admitted. "We've drafted guys that wouldn't come in for workouts before. I mean, it's not the end of the world, we watched him play a ton, we have a lot of information on him.

"It's not like skipping a workout is thumbing their nose at you or anything like that. They're making their priority teams. Sometimes players don't want to come in ... they see our roster and they prefer to go to another team."

Odds are that Markelle Fultz, the consensus top pick, will end up joining the Celtics, paving the way for the Lakers to take Ball.