VulcanRaven;c-9781766 said:
Like Water;c-9774050 said:
What the Ball family is doing should be lauded and is commendable. However, how Lavar is doing it should not. He's not coming across as genuine, or particularly intelligent. Shit, the nigga damn near trolling his way to success. He seems opportunistic, overbearing, and just an all-around nuisance. You don't alienate a potential consumer base by saying they don't fit your brand's criteria because they don't have the money to pay for your unproven son's shoe. That's fucking stupid.
As far as his son bearing the brunt of his father's obnoxiousness when he gets to the league, I don't know how it'll pan out. I do know he's no LeBron. LeBron was/is truly an anomaly. His body build, fundamental skill set, athleticism and basketball iq were already off the charts before he even got to the league. The potential bust factor for Bron was way smaller than it is for Lonzo. I saw Bron play in hs, and I already knew he was different.
I say that to say this: Lonzo ain't even close to being a LeBron-caliber player, so every target that's on you is not the same as the next man's, nor are the abilities to deal with said target. His shot is fuckin weird and will be hindered if not tended to. He's not particularly athletic or quick. He's an ok passer. Not really that strong and he needs to hit the weight room. Defense is lacking, and he hasn't really shown us anything that we haven't seen a million times by people that are better than him and still have faltered at the next level.
At this point, he's just a good college player that has to prove he can cut it for himself, and his idiot father. Would there be pressure on him without his pop wylin' out all the time? Undoubtedly. Should he hafta deal with extra pressure when he wasn't even the one that created it? No.
Someone needs to tell the dad to chill and that he's coming across like a selfish leech.
You make a lot of good points but there is already pressure when a player enters the draft and more when they play in the league. So this stuff about extra pressure is pointless.
He has the right idea to control his son's brand as a family since no player has control and the companies are in charge of everything. If he succeeds and I hope he does this would open up doors for other players to control their own brand and take the power away from these white companies.
All I see are other black people beung negative and criticising this man instead of rooting for him when he has the right idea. I said before, if I was an athlete I would do the same so that I retain ownership of my brand and name instead of letting a company like Nike own me the way Jordan did.
After Jordan is long dead the descendents of Nike will still be rich from his name. Lavar saying you ain't a baller if you can't afford it is no different than white companies charging high prices just because they can. Now cause a black man does it makes it a problem?
I don't think there are many black people that want to see him fail. His success or failure has no bearing on my life whatsoever. I think black people are criticizing him because he's making it more difficult for himself to succeed. If you have the blueprint for success, why the hell would you take the more circuitous route and expose yourself to more chances for failure?
As far as "extra pressure", maybe it should be worded as outside pressure. As in, outside of pressure pertaining to basketball; or distractions. Instead of Lonzo working on his defense, improving his shot, and fielding questions related to his game, msm is more focused on his father and asking him questions related to that. It's unnecessary and unfair for an emerging athlete to hafta deal with stuff like that. Especially when that stuff can be easily prevented.
The shoes are actually a subplot to me though; a microcosm of the larger issue. I'm looking at this from the pov of a father to a son, and the more important issue pertains to the effects that Lavar's actions will have on his sons.
