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A continued topic leading up to the 2017 NBA Draft has been LaVar Ball‘s presence around his son, former UCLA star Lonzo Ball, who is widely viewed as one of the best players in this year's class.
LaVar's persistence to stay prominent in the media has subsequently sprung up the question about whether this will have any hindrance to his son's draft status. Although the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns, who both possess high odds of staying in the top three spots in the upcoming draft, have publicly stated it wouldn't deter them in any fashion, New York Post's Marc Berman is now reporting that some other general managers don't exactly hold that same belief.
“Talking to people here, some guys are straying away from him as a top pick,’’ said one Western Conference scout whose team is not in Tuesday’s lottery. “If you don’t play him the right way, is the father going to say something? And you don’t want to have him on a big stage like New York. You’re always thinking: What’s next?’’
It's abundantly clear that LaVar is at least having some sort of impact on his son's future NBA career that could alter where he lands in the draft. He has essentially become a mainstay in the sports media world because of his often outlandish statements and antics during tv appearances and radio interviews.
However, what has begun to become a bit overshadowed is the huge potential that Lonzo possesses on the basketball court. In his lone season at UCLA, he led one of the best teams in the nation as the orchestrator of their high-power offense. Ball is the first player in the Pac-12 since Jason Kidd in the 1992-93 season to average at least 14.0 points, 7.0 assists, and 6.0 rebounds. He also led the country with 7.6 assists per game while setting UCLA's single-season assist record with 274.
There may be some doubt seeping into the heads of a few general managers around the league, but it would be hard to imagine that any team would pass on the chance to take a player that could become the next face of their franchise simply because of a yammering father.
