As LaMelo Ball goes through the pre-draft process, the cloud hanging over him is his father LaVar. While some of the uncertainty that surrounded Lonzo with regards to his father is gone, it’s been replaced with the certainty of his brashness and boldness.
LaVar isn’t afraid to jump on Fox Sports’ TV cycle and speak his mind if things are going wrong for Lonzo. Despite the attention, largely bad, he can bring, that hasn’t deterred teams from drafting LaMelo.
Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote recently about how LaMelo’s talent outweighs any of the risk of LaVar, according to at least one Eastern Conference executive.
“It’s not hard to see the appeal. LaMelo does things that no one else in this draft class can do. And as far as the concerns about LaVar, I think a lot of front offices understand that there’s always going to be noise these days. It’s just a matter of how you handle it.”
As it pertains to the Warriors specifically, who have plenty of reservations about LaMelo already, one Western Conference scout says LaVar won’t be another deterrence.
“Golden State won’t pass on LaMelo just because they don’t want to deal with his dad. But I’ll tell you what, it sure doesn’t help.”
For all of LaVar’s outspokenness, little tangible effects come from his outbursts. Through all of the infamous quotes he’s given about Lonzo during his NBA career, they’ve had no impact on Lonzo’s career or in the locker room either.
If a team can overlook LaVar’s outbursts, which is a big ask to be fair, LaMelo’s talent will make him a valuable piece of any franchise.