Tag: Roc Nation

Report: LaMelo Ball still ‘wide open’ on potential sneaker deals

LaMelo Ball remains a sneaker free agent but following Monday’s decision to sign with Roc Nation, a shoe deal could be next in line.

While there was certainly much speculation as to which agency the Ball brothers would next align with, a decision that was made on Monday as they joined Roc Nation, the move that had much more intrigue regarded only LaMelo and his sneaker future. With the youngest Ball sibling being the most globally popular, his shoe deal will be one of the biggest in recent memory.

In ESPN’s piece by Jonathan Givony on the brother signing with Roc Nation, it was revealed that Ball was still listening to offers from shoe companies and that decision would be next in line.

Roc Nation will be tasked with negotiating marketing opportunities, including LaMelo Ball’s sneaker contract. Jay-Z was named creative director of Puma Basketball in June of 2018, but according to Jackson the Balls are speaking to several sneaker companies vying for his endorsement.

“He’s still wide open,” (LaMelo Ball’s manager Jermaine) Jackson said. “He hasn’t signed with anyone. Everyone is kicking in the door. Melo is open to whatever. With this pandemic going on, we don’t know what things are going to look like.”

Naturally, Puma likely moves to the front of the line after the brothers signed with Roc Nation. Puma was likely one of the teams already chasing Ball given their increased involvement with NBA players a la Marvin Bagley, DeAndre Ayton and RJ Barrett in recent years.

Nike would also likely have a foothold in the game as well given the fact Ball nearly exclusively sported the brand’s sneakers during his time in the NBL.

It’ll also be interesting to note if LaMelo signs independently of brother Lonzo. Both are sneaker free agents and while the latter won’t have quite the demand of the former, both would certainly be big additions to any brand. If the pair sign with Puma, for example, they would almost certainly be the two lead athletes on the basketball side of the roster.

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Report: Ball brothers to sign with Roc Nation, Raymond Brothers

After multiple weeks of searching for representation, the Ball family will sign with Roc Nation and Raymond Brothers, Roc Nation’s President of Basketball.

After multiple weeks of searching for representation, the Ball family will sign with Roc Nation and Raymond Brothers, Roc Nation’s President of Basketball, as reported by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony on Monday.

Givony spoke with Jermaine Jackson, LaMelo Ball’s manager, on the decision to sign with Roc Nation.

“This was a family decision. This is now an extended family. They put together a beautiful game plan with Jay-Z. The basketball game is about to change. They are going to create something totally new.”

Roc Nation Sports was founded by music mogul Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter was founded in 2013, kickstarted by Robinson Cano’s signing with the New York Yankees. Since that date, it has grown to represent athletes such as Kyrie Irving, Markelle Fultz and Saquon Barkley.

Jackson and LaMelo appeared to have held a meeting with Roc Nation in late February. Pictures posted by Jackson to a secondary Instagram account showed Carter’s private jet.

The three brothers were formerly represented by Creative Artists Agency. The trio left the agency in early March. Some reports suggested that Leon Rose, who potentially represented LaMelo, leaving to take a front office position with the Knicks led to departure of the family.

The move to Roc Nation comes at a critical time with the family. Lonzo can begin negotiating an extension in the upcoming off-season. LiAngelo, meanwhile, will be looking at potential Summer League and G League deals in the off-season and into next season as well. And, most obvious, LaMelo will be one of the top draft picks in the 2020 NBA Draft.

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Roc Nation shares message Kyrie Irving wrote to fan whose home caught fire

A Brooklyn Nets fan’s home caught fire in March. His only article of clothing to survive the fire was his Kyrie Irving Nets jersey.

In early March, before the 2019-20 NBA season was put on hold due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the home of 18-year-old Brooklyn Nets fan Fahad Saleem caught fire. Among the things Saleem lost was his No. 26 Spencer Dinwiddie jersey — he thought he’d also lost his No. 8 Dinwiddie jersey, but later found that one ripped and burned.

But in the direct aftermath of the fire, the one thing of Saleem’s that was visible and intact was his Kyrie Irving Nets jersey.

Saleem was able to attend a game at Barclays Center not too long after, where the Nets point guard would sign the jersey that survived the unfortunate Brooklyn fire.

Roc Nation shared the message Irving wrote to accompany his signature:

To whom much is given, even more is required. With peace and love, we all can heal from life’s unexpected events. I am grateful you are okay. Your friend, Kyrie

Did LaMelo Ball and Jermaine Jackson meet with Jay-Z and Roc Nation?

As the Ball family looks to move on from Creative Artists Agency, Roc Nation could be a landing spot for at least one of the Ball brothers.

As reports of Lonzo Ball parting ways with Creative Artists Agency surfaced earlier in the week, it appears LaMelo Ball and his manager Jermaine Jackson have already begun taking steps to find a new agency.

A little bit of digging is necessary, but it appears Ball and Jackson met with either Jay-Z himself or Roc Nation.

Roughly two weeks ago, Jackson started an Instagram Live broadcast from an airport showing off a private jet. The broadcast did not come from his main Instagram, which is under the username purplegoat1, but instead a second account. This secondary account, which is under the username make_someone_smile_everyday, doesn’t directly identify itself as Jackson’s account but has a picture of him as the profile picture and consistently posts about Jackson’s son, Jermaine Jackson Jr. The account has also posted pictures and videos of LaMelo Ball as well.

During the Instagram Live broadcast, both the registration of the plane and a partial glimpse of a logo are seen. While the logo is hard to specifically identify as the whole thing is not shown, the registration number takes all the guessing work out of it (h/t LonzoPage/Instagram).

Fans of Jay-Z will likely quickly pick up on the registration number. 444 references 4:44, Jay-Z’s 13th studio album. The SC stands for his real name, Shawn Carter. All of the information is available online to officially link the jet to Jay-Z.

The move could mean multiple things for Ball’s future. Roc Nation’s client list in basketball is a growing one considering the sports management division only began in 2013. Their current client list is highlighted by Kyrie Irving while the likes of Caris LeVert, Danny Green, Markelle Fultz, Marcus and Markieff Morris and Skylar Diggins-Smith all are among the other Roc Nation clients.

Jay-Z also has links with Puma, officially listed as a creative director with the shoe brand. In recent seasons, Puma has re-entered the basketball market with DeAndre Ayton, Marvin Bagley and RJ Barrett being some of the recent high-profile players to join the company.

Ball’s relationship, or lack thereof, with Big Baller Brand has been publicized. Despite advances by the company toward Ball during its recent redesign, Ball has relented, instead choosing to keep his options open. Puma could certainly be one of those options.

Ball is likely looking to lock down an agency prior to the pre-draft process which will begin in the coming weeks and months as the NBA and NCAA seasons come to a close. For now, all of this is an interesting footnote to keep in mind as the family looks to move to another agency.

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Coronavirus no threat to Beterbiev-Meng bout on March 28

Artur Beterbiev doesn’t have to worry about the coronavirus when he takes on Chinese contender Fanlong Meng on March 28 in Montreal.

The fists of light heavyweight titleholder Artur Beterbiev knock out opponents inside the ring but are useless against the deadly coronavirus that has killed more than 400 people and infected 20,000 others worldwide.

There were concerns in some corners that the novel virus, which originated in the city of Wuhan, China, would lead to the cancellation of Beterbiev’s projected defense of his two titles against Chinese challenger Fanlong Meng on March 28 in Quebec City. A formal announcement of the bout is pending. 

Yvon Michel, who is working with Beterbiev promoter Top Rank to stage the fight, told The Montreal Journal that Meng’s promoter Dino Duva assured him that his charge has had virtually no chance of contracting the virus. 

“I contacted Meng’s promoter (Dino Duva) when the very first cases of death from the coronavirus had been announced,” Michel told the newspaper. “He quickly assured me that his boxer had been living in New Jersey for the past few years and that he had not returned to China for some time.”

Most of the coronavirus cases have occurred in China. The infectious disease has spread to at least 23 countries, according to multiple reports.

“Our lawyers are already working to obtain a visa for Meng,” Michel added. “We would love to have him be present for our press conference launching the fight.”

Top Rank canceled its Feb. 1 card in Haikou, China featuring a junior welterweight title fight between Jose Ramirez and Viktor Postol out of concern for the virus outbreak.

Beterbiev-Meng was supposed to take place in China after Chinese promoter LoveJoy Sports turned in the winning bid to the IBF. But after failing to make timely payments to the sanctioning body, the rights to the bout reverted to the second highest bidder, Top Rank. There were also concerns that Beterbiev, who is Muslim, would boycott the fight if it took place in China because of that country’s appalling treatment of Uighur, an ethnically Turkic Muslim minority group living in the westernmost province of Xinjiang.

Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs) unified the WBC and IBF light heavyweight titles when he stopped then titleholder Oleksandr Gvozdyk in the 10th round last October.

Meng (16-0, 10 KOs), who represented China at the 2012 London Olympics, fought twice in 2019, picking up wins over Gilberto Rubio and Adam Deines.

Look: Leonard Fournette attends Pre-Grammy Roc Nation Brunch with Jay-Z, Meek Mill, and more

With the Grammy’s coming up this weekend, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation entertainment agency held it’s annual Pre-Grammy brunch Saturday with several celebrities like Jay-Z himself, Meek Mill, Diddy, DJ Khaled, and Kevin Hart, all making an appearance amongst …

With the Grammy’s coming up this weekend, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation entertainment agency held it’s annual Pre-Grammy brunch Saturday with several celebrities like Jay-Z himself, Meek Mill, Diddy, DJ Khaled, and Kevin Hart, all making an appearance amongst notables. Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette was also amongst the group, making the best of his time off from the gridiron after putting up a career high in yards and average on the carry.

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No such thing as too much money @vegas_jones

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Fournette has seemingly gotten close with Jay-Z and the Roc Nation family over time as he’s signed to their sports agency. Yannick Ngakoue is also represented by the group and shares the same agent with Fournette, Ari Nassim.

Fournette’s career years comes after he changed his offseason approach and decided to become more of a leader in the locker room. On the field, he was able to accumulate 1,152 total rushing yards on the season and register an average of 4.3 yards per carry. He also improved from an availability standpoint playing in all but one game.

This upcoming offseason will be another key one for Fournette as the Jags have to decide to pick up his fifth-year option. Regardless of what they decide, he definitely could be up for a new contract in 2021 if he continues to trend upward.

Artur Beterbiev to fight in Quebec City instead of China on March 28

Artur Beterbiev won’t have to worry about compromising his religious beliefs, after it was announced that his next bout won’t be in China.

Artur Beterbiev won’t have to compromise his personal convictions for his next fight, it turns out. 

Originally, it appeared the two-belt light heavyweight titleholder and devout Muslim would have to travel to China to face his IBF mandatory Meng Fanlong after Fanlong’s Chinese promoter Lovejoy Sports won the Dec. 30 purse bid for the bout. But Lovejoy Sports, which co-promotes Fanlong with the American outfit Roc Nation, failed to meet the deadline for a scheduled payment. Per IBF rules, that meant rights to the fight would default to the next highest bidder, Beterbiev’s promoter, Top Rank.

Top Rank is planning to stage the bout in Quebec City on March 28, according to ESPN.com. It is a homecoming of sorts for Beterbiev, a Chechen Russian who has been living and training in the Montreal area for most of his professional career. Beterbiev unified the WBC and IBF belts on Oct. 18, when he stopped then-undefeated Oleksandr Gvozdyk by a 10th-round stoppage.

In light of the news, Beterbiev (15-0, 15 knockouts) can let out a sigh of relief.

The 34-year-old bruiser was reportedly dead set against fighting Fanlong (16-0, 10 KOs) in China, presumably because Beterbiev takes issue with China’s treatment of its Uighur, an ethnically Turkic Muslim minority group living in the westernmost province of Xinjiang. In an effort to crack down on any hint of dissent, the Chinese government has been forcing the Uighur to turn their backs on their religion and traditions, including banning the naming of any of their sons “Muhammad.” It is thought that at least a million Uighurs are being detained in re-education centers.

Rumors suggested Beterbiev was willing to vacate his IBF title rather than fight in China.

Fanlong’s promoter, Dino Duva of Roc Nation, expressed his dismay with his Chinese partners.

“(I’m) very disappointed that Longjoy Sports defaulted,” Duva told Boxing Junkie. “It would have been great for Fanlong, and an historic event for boxing and China. However, I’m confident it will be a great fight in Canada and that Fanlong can beat him anywhere.”

Duva said he doesn’t know why Longjoy Sports failed to make the payment but noted that it was not out of negligence, adding that “they didn’t forget, they knew the rules and obligations.”

Longjoy Sports initially won the rights to the Beterbiev-Menlong bout on Dec. 30 with a bid of $1.9 million, which beat out the $1.35 million offer from Top Rank.