Former UCLA G Lonzo Ball "may become the first player to enter the NBA with his own sports agency" after it was reported he would be "represented by fledgling agent Harrison Gaines and the newly formed Ball Sports Group headed by Ball's father, LaVar," according to Ben Bolch of the L.A. TIMES. Lonzo Ball said, "We're trying to do things differently, add a little flavor to the game and see what we can do from there." Ball said that he would be the "first NBA client for Gaines, who has worked for a few sports agencies after having played at UC Riverside and Pennsylvania." Gaines was CEO at Slash Sports & Entertainment and "has a juris doctor degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego." LaVar Ball said of Gaines, "I trust the work he can do. He just needs the opportunity; he knows the game. It's just like we set our own ways, so he's perfect for us." Bolch noted Ball Sports Group is "an extension of sorts from Big Baller Media ... and Big Baller Brand," the family's apparel line. LaVar Ball said of the unique approach, "It's going to ruffle a few feathers. But it's going to set a ripple effect where people might not go just the agency way as far as, OK, what really does the agent do besides declare for the draft because how are you going to negotiate a price that's already there?" Ball: "They try to get you with the, 'Oh, we can market him.' ... I might as well market [his sons] myself. I know everything. I'm going to market them my way and not their way" (L.A. TIMES, 4/8).
