LaVar Ball wants Lonzo to be a Los Angeles Laker

The Lakers new boss Magic Johnson took in a UCLA game to watch Lonzo Ball beat the Trojans, but would they want to draft Lonzo Ball if he comes with his dad, LaVar Ball? 

As UCLA Bruin Lonzo Ball was about to play in one of the biggest games in his college career so far against the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats on ESPN GameDay no less. That’s when it happened again, his father LaVar made another huge announcement during a radio interview with SportsRadio1290: “My son (Lonzo Ball) will only play for the Lakers.”

The Senior Ball clarified the comment later with this new comment to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman:

"“All I said was that my boy is going to play for the Lakers, I’m going to speak it into existence. I want him to be a Laker, but I wasn’t saying he’s only going to play for the Lakers.”"

Before he got to clear it up, ESPN thought they had spotted LaVar and his wife in the audience at McKale Center causing a stir. They got it wrong, LaVar had never planned on coming to the game, and these parents were actually five-star top-20 recruit Brian Bowen’s parents who weren’t talking to media outlets. This is just one of the exasperating offshoots of having an extremely vocal parent on your team. The spotlight is always on dad, and it takes away from his son, Lonzo.

Can you imagine the pressure he is putting on his son? What if he flops at any time, the vitriol would be overwhelming. LaVar would want to do all the talking. Maybe Lonzo’s coach Steve Alford asked him to stay home? One never knows, but what we do know is that ESPN announcers could not stop talking about Lonzo, they forgot Arizona’s Allonzo Trier who outperformed Ball on an individual basis in the UCLA win.

The stats speak for themselves, the Lakers could use a distributor in Lonzo, but he now seems to come with baggage.

All this negative attention makes for great internet and social media content but creates this circus around Lonzo which gets him attention but not always the best attention. This is not something the Lakers need; they don’t need parent drama.

On the flip side, LaVar also told the radio station that his son, “Don’t lose to people two times in a row,” and he was correct. Lonzo’s UCLA Bruins beat the Wildcats by five points in an incredibly hostile environment.  So it’s hard to argue with the dad, but it’s a bit much for to take we assume for his coach, fellow parents on the Bruins, and Lonzo himself.

On top of all the Lakers talk, LaVar has made some hugely contested suggestions about Lonzo and his ability, comparing Lonzo to Steph Curry. While this could be true some day, it sets the bar so high, and it may have worked in high school and college, but the NBA is a different animal.

Maybe this isn’t the way to go? Steph’s dad, we don’t believe, made any claims like this, and Steph is one of the most humble NBA stars you can find in recent years.

Helicopter parents can get on your nerves, whether they are your student’s mom, your friend, your mom or dad, in this case, your player’s outspoken father. Granted without the helicopter dad, would Lonzo Ball and his two prolific basketball playing brothers be as good as they are today? Probably not.

That said, folks are starting to chime in, fans and media, really are not liking Lonzo’s dad too much, and now LaVar has put his sons in the position most teenagers find themselves, acting like you are not related to your parent in public.

https://twitter.com/_Lakers_4_Life/status/835668143389437952

Jay Williams spoke yesterday about the pressure Lonzo, and other players in college go through, “We are treating these kids like they are pros, just like they are grown, adults.” He is kind of pleading with LaVar to let his kid play and enjoy the sport because, for Williams, it was a safe haven.

We ran a poll to see what Lakers fans thought about the potential of drafting Lonzo Ball and here are the results (Yes, but tell dad to back off):

I agree with Lakers fans, yes, you have to look at Lonzo Ball, a local product, a UCLA Bruin, brings fans in, and he is a great baller, but some serious talking to dad will need to take place.

Personally, I think the Lakers could use a floor general and prolific shooter, so in that case, I say take the dad with the son. Lonzo is fun to watch, cool as a cucumber under dire circumstances, and highly skilled. It’s time for his dad to give his son the spotlight and revel in his successes.

It’s hard enough to be a college student, let alone to try to enjoy this run to the NCAA Championship the Bruins are on. LaVar, listen, I get it, you are proud, and you have done a fantastic job raising your son, but he is now in college, so let your son live his life! I understand being a parent of a college student or two myself, it’s hard to separate, but Lonzo is a man now.

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And Luke, if you can get his dad to agree to stay in the background, by all means, draft Lonzo when given a chance. Humility is a virtue his father will have to learn.