LaVar Ball: LiAngelo, LaMelo sign with agent, will play overseas

ESPN ^ | December 7, 2017 | Jeff Goodman

[Enchante]

They could try stealing in Saudi Arabia and maybe still get their hands chopped off.... that would be good for their basketball careers.

From what I’ve read LiAngelo is not considered a serious NBA prospect at all, except by his dad. I hope the dad doesn’t screw the kid up too badly, but it’s probably too late. Supposedly the younger one, LaMelo, shows more pro promise, but he’s only 15 so who really knows at this point?

The father has made it the family business, with all the “Big Baller Brand” b.s., but the kids may end up really screwed up, well they are already....

[Road Warrior ‘04]

Oh! The La, La, La boys! Doesn't a Christmas song use the La part of their first names? You know: Fa,La,La,La,La, La,La,La,La!

Cripes! I may never play that song a gain! ;)

[ObozoMustGo2012]

[Does this guy treat his wife as a possession? He sure does his son’s!]

If you ask why his wife has a black eye, he’ll tell you she fell down the stairs...

[Ouderkirk]

For all intent and purpose the kids are finished. They will never see the NBA and they just lost their college eligibility.

Yep..they're done. The older was done the instant the shoplifting arrest came. The younger was done the instant his father opened his pie hole..

[pepsionice]

Twenty years ago, the talent around Europe and the Med was marginal. Today? There’s probably 200 players in Europe who are better than Ball’s kid. Most coaches in Europe will tell you that they don’t any ‘problem-children’.

My guess is that for the kid to develop....he needs three real seasons in the European league. His dad his this attitude of one single season, and the kid will be NBA-ready, and that’s a joke. The other side of this story is that money-wise, the kid will make enough to cover his rent, food, and a few extras...that’s it.

I think the kid will end up with a Greek or Polish club, and find it pretty rough going over the first season. Most of the players are NCAA-quality already.

[taterjay]

In other words, Dad and his boys have been Trumped.

[super7man]

"I don't care about the money," LaVar Ball said

Seriously? You want me to believe that?

[AnotherUnixGeek]

So far, LaVar Ball has been on a real roll. He's gotten an enormous amount of celebrity out of his sons, gotten his own reality show and worldwide press coverage. His eldest with the Lakers is having rookie struggles, but he's also shown he can play point guard in the NBA.

The middle kid (the one who stole in China) is not NBA material by all reports, or even good enough for top-level European franchises. He might have developed into an NBA player by staying at UCLA for a few years, but his father blew that up.

The youngest kid is 16 years old and quite talented by all accounts - normally, he'd finish high school, attend college for one year and be taken in the first round of the NBA draft, but again - his father has taken him out of high school, and made him ineligible for the NCAA by marketing shoes under his name and hiring him an agent. European teams aren't interested in 16 year old kid with a lot to learn, no matter how talented. How is this kid going to get playing time or grow into NBA quality with nowhere to play?

Bombast and talented sons got LaVar Ball quite a long way - but the bombast may finally be working against him and his sons. At some point, these kids are going to have to tell their father to shut up and run their own lives.

[super7man]

You left out a “murder of crows”. Hummm....I think that works.

[Thibodeaux]

They flunked out of college.

[bgill]

Good. They won’t be here. When they break the law in some foreign country, it’s all on dad.

[Joe Boucher]

10 to 1 that when these two shoplift overseas, the Donald doesn’t help.

[submarinerswife]

I never understood the ridiculous names. It’s like they are in competition to see who can pull the stupidist name out of their ass.

[COBOL2Java]

Good. They won’t be here. When they break the law in some foreign country, it’s all on dad.

Say now, here's a great place for the punks to play!

Hmm. What's a penalty for crimes there?

After effects (warning: graphic)

[varon]

..........so if they claim to get a deal,..........

it will be because their father paid the team to put their names on the team's roster.......

[tomkat]

Seriously.
Most people in a position to hire will prolly be thinking "do I really wanna have to repeat these idiotic names every day ?"

[Hotlanta Mike]

Don’t get caught shoplifting...

[Hotlanta Mike]

Don’t get caught shoplifting...

[xkaydet65]

Many elite European league teams don’t want American college players. Great physical skills, but little basketball knowledge. A big result of the AAU travel team system for teens. Lots of points, little defense, coaches just roll out the balls and say do the Sports Center stuff. No real coaching and learning. Kid like Porzingis, at 19, had more hoop smarts than the rest of his Knick teammates combined when he came on board.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Ebonics can be tricky. :-)