Although Lonzo Ball appears to be on good terms with his father, Big Baller Brand founder LaVar Ball, at the moment, that didn’t seem to be the case earlier this year, when the older Ball apparently referred to the New Orleans Pelicans point guard as “damaged goods” during an argument.
As noted by USA Today’s Lonzo Wire blog, the heated father-and-son discussion was one of the highlights of the most recent episode of Ball in the Family on Facebook Watch, which was shot at some point after Big Baller co-founder Alan Foster was fired from the brand due to his criminal record. At that point, Lonzo was apparently unsure whether he would continue to endorse Big Baller Brand, causing LaVar to get “impatient” and pressure his oldest son into making a decision.
After Lonzo suggested to LaVar that Big Baller could change its name in the aftermath of Foster’s departure, the Ball family patriarch took issue with this idea, comparing it to changing Lonzo’s name due to his track record in his first two NBA seasons.
“Listen to me, son: When I come out with a name and then somebody tell me to change it, that’s like me telling me to change your name. That’s like people saying ‘Oh, yeah, change Lonzo’s name to Alfonzo on the fact that he been damaged goods for the last two years.’”
As explained by Lonzo Wire , LaVar Ball’s “damaged goods” comment was made in reference to the fact that Lonzo has missed several games due to injuries since entering the NBA in 2017 as the second overall pick in that year’s draft. Playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in his first two professional campaigns, the former UCLA point guard has played only 99 out of a combined 164 regular-season games from 2017 to 2019.
I’m not dissing anybody I loved my time in LA. I use my music as an outlet to express things that happen in my life #50and30 out now! Let me know y’all favorite track ?? pic.twitter.com/xBhI3Ld6ZK
— Lonzo Ball (@ZO2_) August 29, 2019
Separately, Yahoo Sports speculated that LaVar might have been referring to Lonzo’s trade to the Pelicans in the summer but nonetheless focused more on the older Ball’s business practices, pointing out that LaVar has unwisely chosen to “change nothing” despite the challenges Big Baller Brand has faced in recent months.
LaVar Ball has long been known for being very opinionated and outspoken about his eldest son’s journey to pro basketball stardom, thus making the “damaged goods” remark only the latest example in a long series of public comments about Lonzo’s basketball career. As previously reported by The Inquisitr , LaVar criticized the Lakers in June for including Lonzo in the trade that brought Anthony Davis to Los Angeles, commenting that it “will be the worst move the Lakers ever did in their life” and guaranteeing that they will “never win another championship.”
