The Demons have picks 1, 2, 11 and 18 in the NAB AFL Draft on November 26, but coach Dean Bailey says his club won’t select the 25-year-old with any of those picks.
"Certainly one, two, 11 and 18 we're going to be picking some young players, but it's whether 34 comes into the equation or maybe 50, but I don't think he's going to be there at 50. It's whether we use 34," he said.
"As a list management group, we haven't really sat down and decided that yet."
Instead, Melbourne will speak with Ball and his manager, Paul Connors, in coming weeks in the hope of convincing the midfielder to nominate for December’s NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft – where the Demons have the first pick.
"Luke’s got to think about where his future’s going to be first and the biggest decision he’s got to make is whether he wants to play for Melbourne," Bailey said from the Junction Oval on Monday morning.
"Once he’s made a decision where he says ‘Yep, I can see a future with Melbourne’, [then] we’d need to sit down and paint the picture – there’s no question about that.
"After we do that, he’d be in a better situation to say yes or no to [playing with] Melbourne or whether he puts himself in the national draft.
"He’s got some big decisions to make but he’s at the right age, experience and he’s got the leadership … but he’s got to bring his football talent on the ground, too. That’s just as important as anything else."
He conceded he was surprised to see Ball not find a new home during trade week.
"I must admit, going through trade week, I didn't think Luke Ball would fall through or be an opportunity to be in the pre-season or national draft," Bailey said.
"I thought a deal would've been done, but I think it went up to the last minute – the last five minutes they were still trying to get something done.
"So we were surprised at the end of it, but at two or three minutes past two, [Melbourne chief executive] Cameron Schwab was out the door trying to find Luke Ball's manager."
Bailey said it would be beneficial for Ball to play for Melbourne.
"He would be a nice fit into a young, developing midfield," he said.
"If he selects Melbourne and he sees a chance to grow with the club and see his chance to play in finals when Melbourne is ready to play and he's still got something to give then.
"I'm sure those things will be going around in his mind."
In terms of whether Melbourne would offer Ball a leadership position straight up, Bailey was adamant on the subject.
"We have a very strong opinion on the leadership group, where the players select and vote for our leaders, so he would go into that process and it would be up to the group to decide who is in the leadership group," he said.
