Puma invested a lot of money in Charlotte Hornets teenage sensation LaMelo Ball. The 6-foot-6 point guard took the league by storm in his debut season, and it is clear that Puma has been reaping the benefits of their decision to put their eggs on the LaMelo basket.
As it turns out, not only is LaMelo Ball taking Puma to new heights with his tremendous play, but the 19-year-old has also taken on the role of a recruitment officer for the sportswear giant. Right now, the Hornets star has set his sights on none other than Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets.
Irving does not seem to be on the same page with Nike right now, and his shocking reaction to his latest pair of signature sneakers serves as a testament to this fact. The Nets superstar destroyed Nike on Instagram saying that he had nothing to do with the design and the marketing of the soon-to-be-released Kyrie 8's. Irving even went as far as saying that he thought the new pair was “trash” as he apologized “in advance to all of my sneaker heads and true supporters of the #KAI11 brand.”
LaMelo Ball thought this was the opportune time to try and recruit Irving to Puma, and so he did (h/t Jacob Rude on Twitter):
Lol LaMelo is recruiting Kyrie to Puma pic.twitter.com/tqfu9PqOOO
— Jacob Rude (@JacobRude) July 28, 2021
Ball might be playing around here a bit, but based on how Kyrie Irving pretty much lambasted Nike with his IG rant, it wouldn't be surprising if Puma, at the very least, did their due diligence on the Nets star. I wouldn't go as far as saying that Kyrie burned his bridge with Nike with his comments here, but you can be sure that Nike won't be happy with how Irving aired their dirty laundry in public.
Could a bidding war for Kyrie Irving be on the horizon for Nike, Puma, and perhaps a few other brands? If you ask LaMelo Ball, he seems to think that this is a distinct possibility.
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