Big Bawler and the NCAA

[slower]

It's going to be really sad if, 20 years from now, Lavar Ball is interviewed in his trailer park about the sons who never quite lived up to his expectations, and explaining why it all didn't work out...

Actually, it would be hilarious. Wishing nothing but failure to them all and others of the same loudmouth, self-promoting ilk.

[TKG]

that's the point...BBB needs a big company. big shoe companies don't need BBB...so BBB has no leverage at all.

Not sure Father Ball grasps this fundamental reality....

[uh_no]

Actually, it would be hilarious. Wishing nothing but failure to them all and others of the same loudmouth, self-promoting ilk.

lavar is like harrisson barnes on steroids.

[cato]

So at what point does Lonzo the legal adult tell his egomaniacal, manipulative, money grubbing father to get lost?

He may not. We don't really know much about their relationship. Just what they show to the public.

[moonpie23]

i KNOW this kind of parent...


it's sad...and almost always turns out to be to late for the artist...errr...athlete to understand what daddy is doing to their careers...

[Tom B.]

Reading the ESPN story about how Nike, UA and adidas are all rejecting Ball and the Blas brand, I came across this quote from the father, insisting that he won't accept anything less than a co-brand:

"Just imagine how rich Tiger [Woods], Kobe [Bryant], Serena [Williams], [Michael] Jordan and LeBron [James] would have been if they dared to do their own thing," LaVar said. "No one owned their own brand before they turned pro. We do, and I have three sons, so it's that much more valuable."

Yeah, too bad those poor broke idiots signed a normal shoe deal instead of following Ball's business model.

Just think -- Tiger could have made hundreds of millions ... Jordan would be a rich man today. LeBron could retire on his hundreds of millions.

What idiots ...

That was my first thought too. Um, dude...you just cited five people who are worth nine or ten figures, several of whom do, in fact, have co-branding deals with Big Shoe. You know how they got there? By dominating their sports and being the very best at what they do. If your kids can do that, they'll have every opportunity to cash in the same way.


And this quote from the ESPN article jumped out at me:

When asked how long he has been working on the design of Lonzo's shoe, Ball said, "I've been working on that shoe ever since my boys were born."

Well hello, Marv Marinovich...


As for George Raveling's "worst thing to happen to basketball in the last hundred years" crack about LaVar...yeah, I thought that was a little over the top. Fortunately, Lavar responded in his typical measured and thoughtful manner:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTKOX1MBZjE/

[NashvilleDevil]

Another nugget to this saga is the coach at Chino Hills was let go.

[sagegrouse]

I don't believe any kid (or anyone) has an inalienable right to tens of millions of dollars from sneaker companies. But here's my fear -- Lavar will loot his son's bank account, including his NBA salary, to fund his sneaker enterprise. And the money will be gone in a NY minute. That wouldn't be right.

I don't know the rules/laws affecting parents and children, but it has apparently been a problem in hockey, where many kids sign away their earnings on their 18th birthday in return for the parents financing their junior hockey. And there are cases where the parents just spend all the NHL money and leave the kid with nothing.

[arnie]

Not sure Father Ball grasps this fundamental reality...

I'll be the contrarian; seems Lavar could be a great fit as a talking head for ESPN with a lot more personality than most of the pre-armaggedon guys. As long as his kids are OK with this, why do I care. Plus I like his chicken grilling skit.

[Tom B.]

I don't believe any kid (or anyone) has an inalienable right to tens of millions of dollars from sneaker companies. But here's my fear -- Lavar will loot his son's bank account, including his NBA salary, to fund his sneaker enterprise. And the money will be gone in a NY minute. That wouldn't be right.

I don't know the rules/laws affecting parents and children, but it has apparently been a problem in hockey, where many kids sign away their earnings on their 18th birthday in return for the parents financing their junior hockey. And there are cases where the parents just spend all the NHL money and leave the kid with nothing.

In theory, this shouldn't be an issue, because Lonzo is over 18 and a legal adult. He'll have total legal control over his money, and doesn't have to give a dime of it to Dear Old dad if he doesn't want to. It's not like a situation where a parent acts as a trustee for a kid because the kid's still legally a minor, like we see in some sports where kids often turn pro before age 18 (e.g., tennis), and then the parent uses his access to the kid's earnings for his own benefit.

Now, I say "in theory" because who knows what kind of hold LaVar has over his sons? Lonzo doesn't have to give LaVar access to his money, but he's certainly allowed to if he wants to. And if Lonzo believes LaVar and lets LaVar manage his money, there's nothing anyone can do to stop him. And sadly, the sports world is littered with stories about young athletes who entrust parents, relatives, or friends with their money, only to regret it later. I don't know if LaVar will turn out to be one of those parents, but there are, shall we say, red flags. What LaVar should be doing is helping Lonzo find and hire a reputable agent, attorney, and financial adviser, not looking to use his kids as his own private moneymaking machine.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Now that he had said he is turning pro, does Lonzo have an sort of contract with his dad's company?

[sagegrouse]

In theory, this shouldn't be an issue, because Lonzo is over 18 and a legal adult. He'll have total legal control over his money, and doesn't have to give a dime of it to Dear Old dad if he doesn't want to. It's not like a situation where a parent acts as a trustee for a kid because the kid's still legally a minor, like we see in some sports where kids often turn pro before age 18 (e.g., tennis), and then the parent uses his access to the kid's earnings for his own benefit.

Now, I say "in theory" because who knows what kind of hold LaVar has over his sons? Lonzo doesn't have to give LaVar access to his money, but he's certainly allowed to if he wants to. And if Lonzo believes LaVar and lets LaVar manage his money, there's nothing anyone can do to stop him. And sadly, the sports world is littered with stories about young athletes who entrust parents, relatives, or friends with their money, only to regret it later. I don't know if LaVar will turn out to be one of those parents, but there are, shall we say, red flags. What LaVar should be doing is helping Lonzo find and hire a reputable agent, attorney, and financial adviser, not looking to use his kids as his own private moneymaking machine.

Ah, yes! So the problem I cited was likely one affecting minors being involved with trust agreements with their parents.

[JasonEvans]

My bet is that the problem wasn't so much that the shoe companies would have to license BBB from Lavar, but that Lavar likely was going to require them to do all kinds of stuff to promote BBB in a major way. I am betting that the economics of the deal would not come close to working unless Lonzo turned into Steph or Lebron or KD... and while Lonzo is a very good prospect, no shoe company is going to make a huge bet on him that will only pay off if he becomes a future mutli-year MVP.

-Jason "also, for the record, most recruiting gurus say the littlest Ball, LaMello, is a strong pro prospect. He is widely considered among the 20 best players in his class" Evans

[sagegrouse]

My bet is that the problem wasn't so much that the shoe companies would have to license BBB from Lavar, but that Lavar likely was going to require them to do all kinds of stuff to promote BBB in a major way. I am betting that the economics of the deal would not come close to working unless Lonzo turned into Steph or Lebron or KD... and while Lonzo is a very good prospect, no shoe company is going to make a huge bet on him that will only pay off if he becomes a future mutli-year MVP.

-Jason "also, for the record, most recruiting gurus say the littlest Ball, LaMello, is a strong pro prospect. He is widely considered among the 20 best players in his class" Evans

Also, you don't have a business partnership with a loose cannon -- no matter the economics.

[Olympic Fan]

-Jason "also, for the record, most recruiting gurus say the littlest Ball, LaMello, is a strong pro prospect. He is widely considered among the 20 best players in his class" Evans

Well, Lonzo Ball is going to be a top 2-3 pick in June's draft.

The middle Ball brother is not a top 100 prospect

LaMelo (I think that's now it's spelled) is currently rated as the No. 16 prospect in the ESPN Class of 2019 rankings.

That's good, but hardly the billion dollar franchise that the father keeps pushing.

Unless Lonzo (or one of the younger brothers) is MUCH better than expected, I don't see the huge merchandising deal.

[Indoor66]

Too many people construct their own World and the believe that what they construct is reality.

[dudog84]

Too many people construct their own World and the believe that what they construct is reality.

Boy, the places I could go with that comment...but one of the places would be timeout from the mods.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Boy, the places I could go with that comment...but one of the places would be timeout from the mods.

I tried to spork the comment,but apparently I have been too friendly to Indoor as of late.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Chino Hills' next coach will be their third in three years. New guy will either be LaVar's best friend/family member, LaVar himself, or someone incredibly desperate/brave.
Not enough money in the world would be worth that headache.

“Man, we were supposed to go to Sacramento, but that coach is hard-headed. He wanted to do things his way. If we would have gotten along, we would have been in the state title easy. But he’s trying to have a little resistance towards me. And I’m like, ‘Man, try and do it your way. That’s why you lost three games.’
“Because once he run and just play and when my son really wants to play for you, we’re gonna do good. But when you have any kind of resistance towards me, and you the head coach, it don’t work out that good. I already knew he was going to lose that game.”

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/03/lava...n-gilling-ucla

[brevity]

Too many people construct their own World and the believe that what they construct is reality.

You mean like this?



I would invest in these Ball Brothers. Too bad that all the big shoe companies are trying to Black Ball them.

(Source: Deadspin, where the commenters immediately made the same sports connection)