LaVar Ball last month before the NBA Draft told top Lakers officials his act was just "marketing," and was what he "had to do" to market not only his son Lonzo but the Big Baller Brand, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. On the Friday before the Draft, Lakers President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka drove from L.A. to Chino Hills, Calif., to see Lonzo Ball and his father "in their element." When the Lakers "came to his house, LaVar broke character -- or caricature." Johnson said of LaVar Ball, "Before I met him I had already thought that. I already knew what he was doing." Hearing it "straight" from LaVar Ball's mouth "helped put Johnson and Pelinka at ease" and led them to take Lonzo No. 2 overall. After he was drafted, LaVar Ball "stole the headlines by guaranteeing the Lakers would make the playoffs in his first season, then tossing his purple and gold Big Baller hat into the crowd as he exited the Barclays Center to a chorus of boos." Told that it seemed like his dad is kind of enjoying this spotlight, Lonzo Ball smiled and said, "Kinda? He definitely is." If there was "any question as to whether Lonzo is aware of how well his father has been the tail wagging the dog this past year, it was answered in a memorable Foot Locker commercial poking fun at his father's domineering ways." Lonzo Ball said that he "never consulted with his father before shooting the ad." He "read the script, thought it was funny and later sat with his father as he watched it live for the first time." Lonzo Ball said, "My dad saw it when it aired. He saw it and just started laughing. He was like, 'Well, you didn't lie'" (ESPN.com, 7/7).
BALL DON'T LIE: The Ball family appeared at a Las Vegas mall yesterday for a promotional event, and in Denver, Nick Kosmider writes the scene at the mall of people who wanted to meet the Balls "illustrated something more" than what Lonzo Ball's Summer League play has. The Big Baller Brand, and "all the flash, bravado and, yes, talent that created it, had firmly gripped Las Vegas." Just 45 minutes after arriving, Lonzo Ball "headed out of the mall" to go to Lakers practice. The rest of the Ball family "stayed in the store," with LaVar Ball "laughing and holding court as he danced a Sharpie across T-shirts -- at $50 a pop." If the line and fervor within it "were any indication Sunday -- when only apparel, not the sneakers, was being sold -- an organic consumer base is swelling" (DENVER POST, 7/10).
NOT EVERYONE'S A FAN: USA TODAY's Alysha Tsuji noted Lonzo Ball "got some criticism" on Friday from WNBA Mystics G Elena Delle Donne because of his signature ZO2 shoes. Delle Donne is "sponsored by Nike, so she gave them a big shoutout, saying Ball should’ve signed with them instead of his own brand" (USATODAY.com, 7/7).
