Lonzo Ball’s outspoken father might only have scratched the surface of his media access. So far, LaVar Ball has managed to keep his name in the headlines as nothing more than a pandering parent with prodigious predictions.
Can you imagine what it would be like if he had regular access to the media?
According to a Sporting News report, that might soon be the reality, as his son Lonzo is likely to name his father as his NBA agent, and hire an attorney to handle any legal and contractual duties. If that turns out to be the case, Lonzo Ball might approach the negotiating table with lofty demands.
There are a few roadblocks between point A and point B, though.
Ball isn’t currently certified to represent anybody in contract negotiations, so he would need to go through that process first. Couple that with the fact that Ball has no experience or contacts in the industry to aid him in complicated contract negotiations, and you have a recipe for disaster. While it comes as something of a surprise that LaVar wants to represent his son in the NBA, it’s only the newest part of a seemingly endless list of “wait, what?” type moments the daddy Ball creates.
From the report:
Any agent he hires is going to have to navigate the tight waters between NBA teams and his outspoken dad, LaVar Ball. The consensus among agents, and pretty much as expressed by LaVar Ball, is that Ball will hire an attorney — a source said that would be Harrison Gaines of SLASH Sports — strictly for contracts and let his father do the negotiating otherwise. There’s some risk to that, and Ball would be wise to ensure he has an NBA-level pre-draft program in place.
Give credit where it’s due, though, LaVar isn’t afraid to ask for what he wants.
Earlier this year, he was asking for a shoe deal worth a record $1 billion. The deal would cover all three sons, and was more of a “brand deal”, similar to what Michael Jordan has. Phil Knight regarded the demand as “a bit steep.”
If Lonzo can manage to do some thinking for himself, he’d be wise to hire an agent with a different last name than his own. LaVar, while clearly an invested and caring father, doesn’t know lickety-split about being a professional sports agent.
Just because Jay-Z can do it, doesn’t mean everyone can.
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