LiAngelo, LaMelo Ball will play professional basketball ... in Lithuania
The Ball brothers' European vacation looks set to start soon.
According to Yahoo Sports' Shams Charania's sources, LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball will sign with Vytautas Prienai of the Lithuanian league.
On Tuesday, it was official.
The club, which plays in the Lithuanian league, said in a statement the brothers will report in early January. Their contracts run through the end of the current season.
''We are committed to their long-term success and development as professional basketball players,'' said Vilius Vaitkevicius, the team's sports director.
The decision comes after father LaVar pulled LaMelo from Chino Hills High School over the summer before doing the same with LiAngelo at UCLA, albeit due different reasons.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/940351020856733696
Vytautas Prienai are the reigning champions in Lithuania and will offer the brothers a chance at professional basketball with NBA rules forbidding players to enter the draft without first having played at least one year of collegiate basketball.
The Balls won't be the first Americans to play for the club. Brad Tinsley, a former Vanderbilt guard, played for Prienai-Birstonas Vytautus between August and October. Tinsley declined to comment on his brief time with Prienai-Birstonas Vytautus when contacted Tuesday by The Associated Press.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report
