NBA Execs: LaVar Ball Won’t Harm Lonzo Ball’s Draft Stock

While UCLA star Lonzo Ball is leading the Bruins in the NCAA Tournament, his outspoken father, LaVar Ball, has been on a media tour and sparking controversy everywhere he goes. In a recent USA Today feature story, Ball said that he wants a “$1 billion sneaker deal” for his kids and that he could beat Michael Jordan one-on-one.

Lonzo has played his way into the conversation for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 Draft and, according to a report, the elder Ball’s brash style likely won’t scare off NBA GMs from drafting Lonzo this June.

From USA Today:

For all the recent focus on LaVar and his one-man media tour – the endless string of interviews full of cocky claims and premature promises, coupled with insults at everyone from Stephen Curry to Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan – the  consensus among front office executives who discussed the matter with USA TODAY Sports this week was that his draft stock won’t be harmed by his father’s controversial style. As one general manager put it, and many other executives confirmed in various forms when consulted on the matter, “No one’s paying attention to Ball’s father.”

More importantly, Celtics GM Danny Ainge, who could hold the top pick this June, told 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Rich Show” that he would “never hold a player’s family against a player if I like a player.”

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