L.A. Lakers Rumors: Lonzo Ball Will Only Workout For Lakers, Father LaVar Ball Threatens FS1’s Kristine Leahy?
If the latest Los Angeles Lakers rumors and news reports are true, then UCLA Bruins star Lonzo Ball won’t give any other teams a look at him in pre-draft workouts. His father, who is known for being quite vocal regarding his sons’ basketball situations, is now making it quite clear that Lonzo will officially be a part of the Los Angeles Lakers. In addition to that, the proud parent who wants to turn the basketball shoe business upside down has raised his asking price for a contract or partnership involving his son. If all that wasn’t enough, Ball went on Fox Sports 1 recently and made strong remarks towards on-air personality Kristine Leahy, which now has him under fire.
On Tuesday, Lonzo Ball’s dad spoke to Lakers Nation with regards to where his son will wind up in the league. The planets aligned perfectly after Tuesday night’s team order was officially revealed for June’s NBA Draft. With Los Angeles getting the second pick, most analysts and fans believe it will be the UCLA standout who will be the newest rookie for the struggling franchise. His father is only interested in Lonzo working out for the Lakers and is saying no other teams will see his son work out for them. He also added that the arrival of his son to the Lakers would end their recent playoff drought. It’s not surprising that Ball is bringing forth more big talk ahead of his son even being drafted into the league.
However, LaVar Ball took his media rants a bit further than those comments. As reported by USA Today, yesterday’s episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd on FS1 featured the always outspoken LaVar Ball as one of the special guests in the studio. During LaVar’s segment there, Colin’s co-host, sports reporter Kristine Leahy, became part of the conversation. LaVar referred to Leahy as a “hater” and told her to “stay in your lane,” before adding more comments which came across in a threatening manner.
“I never disrespect women. But I’ll tell you what, if you act like that, guess what? Something’s coming to you, and it’s okay.”
The comments were made due to Ball feeling Kristine had unnecessarily criticized his approach to business and marketing. Basically, LaVar was trying to get in with big footwear and apparel brands such as Under Armour, Nike or Adidas but wasn’t paying attention to what they do. Leahy had suggested that Ball needed to look at what those three major brands are doing in terms of their approach towards marketing to women. As Leahy mentioned later on after Ball had appeared on The Herd, women tend to do a lot of the household shopping for products such as footwear for kids, who will be the ones that want to wear Lonzo Ball’s sneakers or other gear. In addition, all three of those aforementioned brands also provide products for women.
LaVar Ball has been attempting to market his own company, Big Baller Brand, that is based on his son Lonzo, so far, and most likely, his other siblings down the road. However, Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour all turned him down when he met with them asking for a hefty $1 billion to have a partnership. That caused Ball to have a prototype shoe created, the ZO2, which will cost buyers $495 a pair, along with sandals that cost over $200. Despite that, with the recent news that the Los Angeles Lakers will get the No. 2 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, LaVar has now raised the asking price. ESPN reported that it will now take $3 billion to do business with them, triple the original asking price.
“Now you know… if they want to talk to me now, it just went up to $3 billion. Triple Bs — billion, billion, billion,” he said, adding: “That’s the only way they going to come at me. I’m already in the building. I don’t need them for nothing, as you can tell.”
The exorbitant asking price is based mostly on future potential for his son Lonzo Ball to perform well in the league and become a franchise player that others idolize or want to emulate. That could be the case as Tuesday night’s NBA Draft Lottery lined up just right. The Boston Celtics will receive the No. 1 overall pick and are expected to take Markelle Fultz from Washington, whom many analysts believe is the best choice. Next up will be the Los Angeles Lakers, and with Lonzo Ball available at No. 2, they can bring the local star from Chino Hills and UCLA to the franchise. However, until his talents on the NBA court have been displayed, and the asking price lowers some, it will be hard for companies to take his father seriously. LaVar’s media sessions and controversial sound bites won’t help matters much at this point before his son has even donned a Lakers uniform.
[Featured Image by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images]
