LaVar Ball (right) made an outrageous statement to journalist Stephen A. Smith that he could beat Michael Jordan one on one which left Smith dumfounded - (Screen shot photo from First Take - Sports Talk TV show)

SPORTS NOTES - THE BALLS of BALL

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

For the past few months a lot of noise has been made of the highly touted NBA prospect 19-year-old Lonzo Ball. The problem is most of the noise is coming from his father LaVar. The question is can Lonzo's ass cash the checks that his father's mouth is writing? The reality is… do you really have to have BALLS?

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

BALLS TO THE WALL!

Get the Ball you all, get the Ball, seems to be the cry that is being sounded out around the NBA with the back story being the loud mouth of Lonzo Ball's father LaVar.

As this melodrama plays before NBA General Managers and NBA team decision makers that is creating a quandary of whether to draft the highly touted Lonzo Ball. It raises the question if it's worth taking a chance of signing him and take on the baggage of Ball's very vocal father. Lonzo keeps his mouth shut while his father can't seem to exist without his mouth being open.

The senior Ball has the BALLS to be the mastermind behind his 19-year-old son having a Big Baller Brand basketball shoe that sells for $495 which is more than the greatest player in NBA history Michael Jordan's shoe costs.

The father is looking for billion dollar deals for a major company to carry the Big Baller Brand shoe line. Ball appears to he be challenging Barnum & Bailey's Ringling Brothers Circus as being recognized as the GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH.

The father turned down an offer for his son to work out for the Boston Celtics. The word is that he might consider his son working out for the Philadelphia 76ers. The appeal being that Ball would match up well with the Sixers overall 1st round draft choice from last season forward Ben Simmons.

The rationale is that the two young players could grow together and Ball would be the likely choice for the starting guard position and have the ball and decision making in his hands to assist and feeds to Simmons. The downside is being in the city of brotherly love, Ball would be 3,000 miles from where he was raised and his family in California.

Lonzo is 6-foot-6 and is the same height as his father. He declared for the draft following his freshman campaign at UCLA and averaged 14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists. He was a consensus first-team All-American.

The Los Angeles Lakers and its president Magic Johnson seem to have the inside track on signing the youngster. The father is very vocal about wanting his son to sign with the Lakers.

Strong points for the Lakers are that Lonzo is home grown having been raised in Chino Hills roughly 45 miles from the Lakers home court, the Staples Center. Ball's father respects Magic and the Lakers which is another major factor.

This is the most doable relationship. Ironically it could be a marriage from hell. It raises the question if being so close to home would be a detriment to his maturity process and him eventually being his own man.

LaVar has made numerous outrageous comments including his son is better than Stephen Curry the best shooter in the NBA. He claims that Curry is too small at 6'2".

LaVar claims that his son could do the same for the Lakers in his rookie season that Magic did when for the Hollyweird team when he was a rookie and led the Lakers to the NBA title. During his First Take TV interview LaVar also stated that his son would lead UCLA to the NCAA championship. THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.

Having played only one season of college basketball Lonzo has racked up the credits to embellish his credentials including:

Consensus first-team All-American (2017)

First-team All-Pac-12 (2017)

NCAA season assists leader (2017)

Wayman Tisdale Award (2017)

Pac-12 Freshman of the Year (2017)

Mr. Basketball USA (2016)

Naismith Prep Player of the Year (2016)

McDonald's All-American (2016)

California Mr. Basketball (2016)

The vociferous father has made other outrageous statements to journalist Stephen A. Smith that he could beat Michael Jordan one on one. It's a no brainer… THAT'S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN.

"Nobody has ever beaten me one on one," the vociferous elder Ball exclaimed leaving Smith with a dumfounded look on his face.

LaVar is selling wolf tickets the same as former UFC fighter Dan Hardy famously stated about Carlos Condit who claimed he could defeat Hardy. Hardy responded that Condit's mouth was writing a check that his ass couldn't cash. The result being Condit knocked Hardy out and HIS ASS CASHED THE CHECK.

It remains to be seen if Lonzo can play at the NBA level. He has yet to play one NBA minute. Can he deliver enabling his ass to cash the checks that his father's mouth is writing?

LaVar has created a stir from LeBron James when he compared his son to LeBron's 12-year-old youngster regarding achieving basketball skills. He claims that his statement wasn't meant to be disrespectable but basically he says what he feels.

The reality is that LaVar is digging a hole for Lonzo to climb out of thus heaping a huge amount of pressure on the 19-year-old and claims that being the father, his word is the final word in his (Ball) family. "I'm the one who made Lonzo," he boldly stated.

Should Ball sign with the Lakers he would be burdened with being with a dysfunctional team that has set records for losing seasons under the leadership of their petulant majority owner Jeannie Buss. The team is so bad that it has finished in the lottery the past four seasons.

Should that scenario come about it would counter that LaVar wants his son to play with a contender as the Lakers are one of the worst teams in the league. The combination of the mouths of Buss, Magic and LaVar spewing diarrhea of the mouth would be a disaster.

The good news is all of these individuals love to talk and their comments would make excellent fodder for the media. The bad news is whose voice will carry the most weight? Will it come down to WHY CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG or will it be viewed as a marriage made in heaven?

With all of the talk by LaVar regarding what his son can do raises the question if Lonzo can't deliver on the NBA level is he strong enough to deal with what could be THE CONSEQUENCES?

It appears that LaVar is trying to live his life vicariously through his son. He claims he's not and that he has all that he wants. He claims that he's doing everything for his son.

Ohhhh Please!!! Talk is cheap but it is worthless when LaVar makes a claim that he can beat Michael Jordan one on one.

"Ain't nobody ever beat me one on one," he said. "Michael Jordan, how can he beat me. I'm too big and too strong," he added.

The biggest question is… WHO IS LAVAR BALL? - (2-B CONTINUED)

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