LaVar Ball, the father of former UCLA star and upcoming draftee Lonzo Ball, has been in the news a lot lately because of his desire to speak his mind.
The media has given LaVar an outlet to speak, and he has made the most of it saying things such as Lonzo will only play for the Los Angeles Lakers and he is going to speak it into existence, that Lonzo is better than Stephen Curry and that he, LaVar, could beat Michael Jordan is a one-on-one game.
Some believe that the things LaVar has said may prevent a team from drafting his son, but it does not appear to be the problem for the Lakers as owner Jeanie Buss recently praised LaVar for the passion he shows for his son.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver also recently commented on LaVar’s antics, saying he believes it will settle down once Lonzo gets drafted, via ESPN.com:
“I think here, if I were an NBA team looking at Lonzo Ball, I’m not sure how much consideration I would give to his father. I think ultimately the issue is, how much game does Lonzo have, how great a player can he be.
“I think his dad will invariably settle down once his son is drafted and a team has the appropriate discussions with him. So I’m not concerned about that,” Silver said.
Silver may be right, as UCLA head coach Steve Alford recently said that LaVar was never involved or contacted him about basketball decisions while Lonzo played at UCLA.
While he may not be involved with the basketball decisions of whatever team Lonzo ends up on, it is hard to believe that LaVar will go completely quiet once the draft ends, especially if the Lakers pass on Lonzo with the No. 2 pick.