I am a huge Lonzo Ball fan. Plain and simple.
It’s only natural, growing up just outside the Los Angeles area, that my blood is a mix between Los Angeles Lakers’ purple and gold, and University of California, Los Angeles Bruins’ blue and yellow. No matter how ridiculous the circumstances, I have defended Lonzo time after time again — which can be a little difficult when going to college in Boston.
In turn, I also like and stick up for — yes, you knew it was coming — LaVar Ball.
Whether it was shipping Lonzo’s little brothers LiAngelo and LaMelo off to Lithuania to play professionally overseas, or claiming that Lakers’ head coach Luke Walton had “lost the locker room,” I have stuck by LaVar’s decisions. Not always agreed, but at least stood up for.
But ‘Papa Ball’ has finally pushed me over the edge with his latest antic.
On Monday, LaVar dropped a bomb on Lithuanian basketball reporter Donatas Urbonas that left me frustrated beyond belief.
According to Urbonas’ report, LaVar claimed that Lonzo will not return to Los Angeles when his contract is up, unless the team signs LaMelo and LiAngelo as well.
“I [will] let every NBA team know, that Lonzo is not going to resign with the Lakers but will go to any team that will take all three of my boys,” LaVar told Urbonas.
In LaVar’s crazy year and a half in the national spotlight, Lonzo has taken a back seat. He has let his father do all the walking and talking, while he focused on one thing: basketball. Nothing but respect for that.
However, with this most recent LaVar declaration, it is officially time for the 20-year-old point guard to take the wheel.
This is the first time LaVar has acted out of pure greed and selfishness.
Sure, he says some wild things — throwback to his claim that Lonzo is “better than Steph Curry” — but usually he’s just trying to hype up his family or his Big Baller Brand. Now, LaVar is putting Lonzo and the entire Lakers organization at risk of losing big.
Lonzo’s current contract with the purple and gold expires after the 2020-21 season, when he becomes a restricted free agent. This means the Lakers will have the option to match any offer given to Lonzo by another franchise. If the Lakers equal another team’s contract, Lonzo must stay in Los Angeles.
Sounds perfect for the Lakers, right? Wrong.
Unfortunately, LaVar holds all the cards in this situation. Fans of Facebook’s “Ball in the Family” — a online reality show already in its second season — have learned one very important thing about “Big Baller”: LaVar always gets his way.
Here, Lakers’ President of Basketball Operations Earvin “Magic” Johnson and General Manager Rob Pelinka have no hope at controlling the mayhem on their own. They are truly at the mercy of LaVar, hands tied behind their backs.
All their hard work at developing a young core from the ground up could go to waste in an instant if LaMelo and LiAngelo don’t get their contracts. Unless Lonzo decides to step in.
LaVar selfishly wants two “gimme” spots for LaMelo and LiAngelo. He’s putting his sons’ careers higher in importance than the possibility of adding banners and rings to purple and gold history. C’mon man, that’s not cool.
Don’t get me wrong — LiAngelo could straight ball in high school. He averaged 33.8 points per game during his senior year at Chino Hills High School, and even dropped 37 points and 10 rebounds in a game in Lithuania earlier this season. But on the Lakers, I don’t know.
He could probably get some “oohs” and “ahs” in Case Gym during Terrier Madness, but Staples Center is a whole other story.
And LaMelo is insanely fun to watch. He has flash and style that ballers around the globe respect. But he is still far too unproven to be given a spot in the best league in the world just because of who his brother is.
LaVar’s grand vision of getting all three Ball boys together on the Lakers has gone smoothly so far. The first phase has been “spoken into existence.” Pretty big accomplishment, hats off to him.
However, it’s time for Lonzo to stand up to his and father and explain that he has the right as an adult to make these monumental decisions for himself.
He’s only 20 now, and will be 24 when he crosses this shaky bridge. Who knows how much he will have matured by then.
Honestly, I’m sure of one thing: Lonzo will once again be put in an awkward situation about something his father said, much sooner than that.