cmon Lavar we were all rooting for you.
this the most shocking pricepoint since $599 USD (shouts out to everyone who remembers that bomb drop)
it looks alright though

http://www.slamonline.com/news-rumors/other-news/lonzo-ball-sneaker-zo2-big-baller-brand/#mXwgtpt2aew4iRpx.97


After months of speculation, Big Baller Brand is officially putting to rest any remaining rumors about the company’s highly anticipated next move. Lonzo Ball will become the first player to have his own independently made signature shoe entering the NBA Draft.

Love it or hate it, this is a historic move that will send shockwaves throughout the basketball community and will leave many wondering if this could become a trend among athletes in the future.

Just a week ago, a report that Big Baller Brand was no longer in negotiations with Nike, adidas and Under Armour surfaced online, but LaVar Ball, Lonzo’s father and the CEO of Big Baller Brand, has made it clear that the company was not interested in a standard endorsement deal, instead seeking co-branding opportunities.

Since negotiations with Nike, adidas and Under Armour had seemingly fallen apart, there was a perception that the BBB team was scrambling for options. But that wasn’t quite the case. BBB tells SLAM that designs and prototypes for Lonzo’s first signature shoe—the ZO2—had been in the works for the past few months. Big Baller Brand was always prepared to go the independent route if conversations with the aforementioned sneaker companies did not lead to a deal.

It’s a bold move—a first of its kind.

BBB is aiming for Lonzo’s signature sneaker to tap into a new market—above the athletic performance kicks from the likes of Nike, Jordan, adidas and Under Armour, but below the high-end designer shoes of Gucci, Prada or Louis Vuitton. The ZO2 Prime comes with a $495 price tag.

There is also a limited ZO2 WET Autographs edition, which will come in a key-locked glass box with a floor mirror, LED lights and an autograph from the Chino Hills prodigy himself. It will cost $995.

Lonzo, a likely top-3 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, was the talk of college basketball this past season as a freshman at UCLA. He averaged 14.6 points and an NCAA Div. I-best 7.6 assists per game, drawing comparisons to some of the game’s greatest point guards in the process.

His ZO2 signature sneaker features python microfiber texture, patent leather heel logos and a gel outsole with a hand-painted DeLorean finish.

Today’s product reveal also includes the release of the ZO2 signature slides, which also feature python microfiber texture and Lonzo’s personal logo.

All three products are now available for pre-order at bigballerbrand.com.

Big Baller Brand is still in talks with potential investors, and the company tells SLAM there will be more announcements in the coming weeks. Only time will tell what kind of effect this move will have on the athlete-endorsement business model going forward.

looks like a wacky, Kobe-11 clone
https://complex-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/c_fill,q_95,w_1100/nike-kobe-ftb-5_mppt2q.jpg

Because his pops is setting him up to get slaughtered if he's anything less than a perennial all star.

LaVar Ball spent a good chunk of money out of his own pocket. That doesn't justify that insane asking price for the sneakers, but pretty bold of this dude to put so much of his money into sneakers when none of his children have earned a single penny playing professionally yet.

These need to drop in price by at least $450.

he out his rabbit ass mind charging more than $150 tho.

____________________

<================== Learn the name now before everyone gets dunked on

Shoe actually looks like it's well made. It's such a ridiculous idea to sell a shoe for $495 that in America in 2017 it'll probably work.

Like there are shoes from the major companies that look worse.

But that price is going to make it DOA.

>

http://tinyurl.com/ltg2fgs

.

Much like almost everything is going an independent route of some sort (movies, music, publishing, etc.) I can see players/agents taking this model and tinkering and improving on it. I wouldn't be surprise in about 10 years this would be a consistent thing.

Louboutin's hit you for $2000 plus
http://eu.christianlouboutin.com/uk_en/shop/men/louis-saffiano-strass.html

Giuseppe's run $700
Versace Medusa's run $800+
These are $950: http://www.versace.com/us/en-us/men/accessories/shoes/sneakers/versace-logo-hi-top-sneakers-d41wb/DSU6175-DVG3G_D41WB.html?cgid=231500#start=1

This is a thing in 2017.

I'm surprised he's the first baller to go there. If people got the cake and they want them, they gonna buy them.

He's on that Nipsey Hussle. Put out only 2500 pair at that price point and get a cool 1.25 mil in a week. Let him do ANYTHING significant in the league and he'll make a killin'.

nobody is playing basketball in louboutins and no one is wearing a shoe that says "Big Baller Brand" to anything tasteful.

also arent louboutins handmade in italy? these are gonna be made in a sweatshop.

so im not sure your comparison holds

>I'm surprised he's the first baller to go there. If people
>got the cake and they want them, they gonna buy them.

The one aspect to keep in mind is that the Ball family is fronting a ton of money for this whole venture. I have to imagine is costs some major ducats to manufacture and distribute the shoes themselves; I dunno how many other players are willing to go that route rather than sit back and get a lucrative 5-10 year contract from a major sneaking company.

I mean just that name. Big baller. Who fuckin uses the word baller anymore

And those are Adidas.

This is some rookie with a crazy dad, and a clothing brand that he seemingly just made up and operates out of his basement or something.

Same with yeezy. And those Lux brands.

You can't come out the gate with some basketball shoes that cost that much and you a nobody.

People scoff at paying 200 for the shoes of GOATs. This shit about to flop so hard.

.

That's what makes it funny to me.

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

Lol @ $495. Please don't end up in Boston. Please end up in LA so you can spend your career in the lottery.

they hope they fail miserably...just mostly that the price-point is ridic. I think it's funny how bad of a style jack it is.

Players being able to front their own shoe companies rather than just endorsing shoes could be a great step but it's a huge risk and I'm not sure Ball is the guy to pull it off. On the other hand, he's made himself a bit of a celebrity with his outspokeness so people are paying attention, which is a big part of the game. Dude's getting free publicity like crazy.

He's annoying but if he can pull it off, more power to him.

The problem is in how Lavar is going about trying to do it...it's extremely abrasive and off-putting.

also, seriously, what other version of this is there?

if you have no budget for marketing and can only get attention by being outlandish...what do you do.

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

I was thinking his approach may have burned some bridges w the shoe companies...but then I realized they are only about one thing: revenue. If Lonzo does well and there is interest in the shoe, the companies will come back regardless.

Like you said, as it stands, he's just getting free press and publicity....and he's betting Lonzo's play will make up for the rest.

You can cop a One Plus 3T AND some headphones.

You can buy a Moto G5 Plus, microsd card, go to Applebee's, pay for Netflix, and save money.

You can get some contact lenses AND glasses.

In a college town with a roommate that's 2.5 months of rent.

The killer thing is these shoes shouldn't cost more than $5 to make. Don't even get me started on the $220 flip flops. Lonzo has to be bare minimum consistent all-star for this to fly and even then he's getting the side eye.

The design sucks worse than the price.

Ok you think they're not trash... they're still 5 bills. That prices out 99.9% of the market.

You got $500 for a pair of kicks? How far down the list are these on potential kicks to cop? You buying these over some Yeezy's that guaranteed you can flip on eBay? You buying these instead of 2 or 3 pairs of Kobes, KDs, Brons, or Hardens shoes?

These seem like some Starburys with a $500 price tag. And I'm not shitting on Starburys as a shoe.

Who the fuck knows though. People still fall for that Beats by Dre bullshit...

Side note about the commercial - Watching Zo's fucked up jumper still makes me cringe. It works for him but goddam it's unorthodox.

Lonzo doesn't even have a 20 day reputation.

7 bills if you wear a size 14 and up...and they don't SHIP til November. You can't even rock em for the summer. I can take that, buy some J's and a pair of Boosts, have change left over and have them at my door Tuesday

Unproven talent. I think if this were being driven by Russell Westbrook then I could see it working. However, I know people with money and taste that would never buy these shoes.

I remember when bathing ape was the talk. Where is that brand now? This kid's q rating has to be circling the drain. Hopefully someone can save him from his pops.

is going to cost Lonzo a lot of money.... but I don't think it impacts his actual basketball career...

the dude is a next level talent, and pops stuff is just a distraction for the media and folks to make fun of..

the shoes are cool....but not for $500....

if pops could have came at this differently....they could have released the same shoe (minus the trademark infringement on Kobe and Ohio State) with a major shoe company with pops being involved in some marketing or something if he was simply an easier person to deal with...

crazy like a fox maybe?

I was doing napkin math yesterday, and they don't have to do crazy numbers to make real revenue. I have no idea what kind of margins they're looking at.

There are still a bunch of potential landmines to navigate
-supply issues?
-do they have shipping and distribution on lock?
-what if they shoe doesn't get released on time?
-what if people get it and the quality is ass?
-what if Lonzo is like an 8th man at best?

Those are more challenges for any start up, though, and not specific to the Ball family. Those are all things that could fuck this up, but so far, to date if they sold 4K in 3 hours, that's a win for 3B.

I still don't know who the fuck is buying, but if there are people copping, then it doesn't really matter that i don't know who they are. 3B still wack to me, but I stil think UA is wack and they're worth a kajillion dollars.

>There are still a bunch of potential landmines to navigate
>-supply issues?
>-do they have shipping and distribution on lock?
>-what if they shoe doesn't get released on time?
>-what if people get it and the quality is ass?
>-what if Lonzo is like an 8th man at best?
>
>Those are more challenges for any start up, though, and not
>specific to the Ball family. Those are all things that could
>fuck this up, but so far, to date if they sold 4K in 3 hours,
>that's a win for 3B.
>

.

and I bet if they don't get enough orders they won't ship at all.

This sounds like a kickstarter

joints gonna be made to order. Who's dropping 5 bills for a shoe in May that thew won't see till after Thanksgiving...when summer is about to hit?

Any true baller can drop 5 now and not worry about it til November. 5 bills is chump change to a real big baller.

Were those all pairs of shoes or just orders for merchandise period?

about the sales...

why you would think I would just make up a number and post it on here is curious....

i just think you're repeating an completely uncorroborated internet rumor, which wouldn't be the first time. that all.



>about the sales...
>
>why you would think I would just make up a number and post it
>on here is curious....
>
>

Its real.

connotes that preceding statement was not meant to be a statement of fact..... that's all.

https://streamable.com/9niqz

LaVar Ball explains why Lonzo's new shoe costs $495 and says Nike and Under Armour are free to battle below him

The Ball family created yet another fire storm on Thursday when they unveiled Lonzo Ball's first signature shoe under the family brand with a price tag of $495.

The announcement of the ZO2 came one week after it was reported that Nike, Under Armour, and Adidas were spurning the younger Ball as a potential athlete endorser due to LaVar's rejection of a traditional endorsement deal and demand that their Big Baller Brand become co-branded with one of the athletic shoe giants.

On Friday, LaVar was a guest on "The Dan Le Batard Show," and was asked why they decided to charge $495 for the shoes. In typical LaVar fashion, his answer was part confidence, part funny, part simplicity, and a whole lot of boisterous.

"I figured that's what the shoe was worth," Ball told Le Batard. "I liked the way it sounds. You see, when you are your own owner, you can come up with any price you want."

LaVar went on to explain that he is not in competition with Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour. In fact, he went so far as to say they are battling below Big Baller Brand.

"Let Nike and Adidas and Under Armour, they battling below me," Ball said. "They'll go ahead and put all their stuff in Foot Locker. I'm better than them. I'm a step above."

As for why the shoe was specifically priced at $495 and not, say, $500, Ball once again acted like the question was a bit absurd.

"$500?! $495 sounds better," Ball said. "I like three different digits."

LaVar further defended the price of the shoe by saying it is "symbolic," noting that his son is the first basketball player to have his own brand before entering the NBA. He also explained that there is some value in knowing that his son designed "all of it," something the other shoe companies are not allowing rookies to do.

I can't wait to see this play out

.

Or at all.

Basically some Deebo slippers and church socks

you seen a dude in plaid house shoes and you knew he ran his block

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/05/sports/basketball/lonzo-lavar-ball-shoes-zo2.html?_r=0

At $495, Lonzo Ball’s ZO2 Sneakers Have Tastemakers Saying No Thanks
By MARC TRACY
MAY 5, 2017

At the Flight Club sneaker store just south of Union Square on Thursday night, eager customers perused the gleaming shelves, hunting for classic kicks. The big names — the players whose signature shoes are most highly sought — are the ones you would expect: Kevin Durant, LeBron James and, even after all these years, Michael Jordan.

At the time, the larger world was trying to wrap its head around the ZO2, Lonzo Ball’s first signature shoe, which he had hours earlier announced in a video released to Slam magazine.

Ball, the former U.C.L.A. point guard who is expected to be a top-three pick in June’s N.B.A. draft, had declined contracts with the big sneaker companies: Nike, Under Armour and Adidas. Instead, he placed his chips on Big Baller Brand, the company founded by his father, LaVar Ball, for the frank purpose of maintaining control over the merchandise revenue generated by his three sons, Lonzo, 19; LiAngelo, 18, a U.C.L.A. commit; and LaMelo, 15, who scored 92 points in a high school game last season.

LaVar Ball’s opening bid to shoe companies some weeks ago was a marketing deal with all three sons worth $1 billion. The companies reportedly declined. Last month, a Nike executive called LaVar Ball “the worst thing to happen to basketball in the last 100 years.” Translation: Nike doesn’t like when someone rejects the business model that has enabled the company to dominate the multibillion-dollar sneaker and apparel industry.

Then, on Thursday, came Big Baller Brand’s ZO2, the least expensive version of which costs $495. Yes, four hundred ninety-five dollars. For comparison’s sake, the most recent signature shoe of James, basketball’s biggest star and best player, began retailing last year at $175; it carries the Nike swoosh.

While the shoe and the Ball family buzzed all over social media on Thursday, the sneaker intelligentsia were lined up in Flight Club’s consignment area. These are the people who camp out on street corners to get first crack at new releases and then sell them to Flight Club for a cut of the subsequent resale. The leading edge of sneaker cool, they help decide which shoes will be on the shelves of Flight Club and stores like it 10 and 25 years from now. And they had reached a verdict on the ZO2: No thanks.

“I wouldn’t buy those,” said T.Q. Jones, who wore Nike Prestos as he waited in the consignment line.

Haitham Khan — who was rocking a Comme des Garçons hoodie, a Supreme bag and blush-colored Common Projects sneakers — made a bold statement: “I can answer your question: No one’s going to buy them.”

This conclusion matched those of industry experts, who nonetheless marveled — through laughter — at what Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing expert at Baker Street Advertising, labeled “the brazenness, the audacity, the ego” of LaVar Ball, the father.

Matt Powell, a sports industry analyst at NPD Group, estimated Big Baller Brand would sell 10,000 pairs, which he described as a “rounding error” given the 400 million pairs of shoes Nike made last year.

“If you did it in snakeskin and pixie dust, it might cost $500,” Powell added.

Sneaker culture is shaped by substance as much as flash. Flight Club, for instance, prominently features sneakers linked to long-retired stars like Scottie Pippen, Patrick Ewing and Jordan not merely because those shoes are aesthetically pleasing, but because they are connected to incredible basketball talents.

As Jones said of Lonzo Ball: “I don’t know if he’s going to be a star.”

Then, too, there are utilitarian concerns. At least in theory, basketball sneakers are for playing basketball in, and Big Baller Brand was not believed to possess the same kind of technology that makes the established companies’ shoes user-friendly.

“I want to know how they perform,” said Karl Leung, who wore Adidas sneakers as he waited in the consignment line. Adidas is known for its Boost foam, he noted, while Nike has its Zoom cushioning.

“I’m wondering what’s in the shoe that makes it a basketball performance shoe,” Leung added.

Someone who pre-orders ZO2s today would be guaranteed shipping, according to Big Baller Brand, by Nov. 24 — a hint, Powell suggested, at the six-month lead time typically required to make and transport new shoes.

“It’s really hard to make a shoe,” said Powell, adding, “There’s a reason why you don’t see hundreds of new shoe companies.”

Many saw the shoe release as just the latest antic from LaVar Ball, who in the past few months has said that in his prime he could have beaten Jordan one-on-one (Ball briefly started at Washington State before transferring to a Division II team); that he married his wife, Tina, partly to have great basketball-playing sons; and that Lonzo Ball is better now than Stephen Curry is.

Encountering widespread ridicule on Thursday over the sneaker’s price tag, LaVar Ball tweeted that if “you can’t afford” them, “you’re NOT a BIG BALLER!”

In an era in which marketing is conducted over social media and the loudest voice often carries the day regardless of what is being shouted, there is a certain logic to Ball’s strategy of being consistently outrageous. (Big Baller Brand did not reply to a request to comment.)

But the reality is that in electing not to sign an endorsement deal after insisting, ESPN reported, that any of the three biggest shoe companies license Big Baller Brand, the Balls left money on the table.

“I’m sure the brands all said, ‘Yeah, we’re interested, we’d like to pay him a couple million bucks,’” said Powell, pointing to the standard going rate for high draft pick rookies.

“The revenue opportunity they’ve had is now over,” Powell added.

Stephon Marbury, the former N.B.A. star who plays in China and is believed to be one of a few basketball players to have his own sneaker brand independent of a major shoe company — Starbury — praised LaVar Ball on Wednesday, telling The Undefeated website: “He should want to own his own brand. That is the smartest way of doing it.”

In the ZO2 release video, which is set to a Drake track and features Lonzo Ball training in his shoes near his hometown, Chino, Calif., the namesake himself spoke in those terms, too, advocating “a movement allowing us to be entrepreneurs, not just endorsers.”

From Curry’s receiving Under Armour stock as part of his deal to James’s cashing in on his shares of Beats when the headphones company was acquired by Apple, it is part of the zeitgeist for the most talented and savvy basketball players to seek and acquire equity.

The analogy falls short, though, because Ball is not yet Marbury, much less Curry.

It also does not help that Starbury shoes are deliberately inexpensive — some new ones start at $14.98 — while the ZO2s are, well, not.

“This shoe,” Dorfman said, “may be bought by collectors just to say that they had it.”

Or not. The Flight Club consignors dismissed even a proposal to shell out for ZO2s now on the off chance that everyone will be wanting them in a decade or so.

“I’d rather buy lottery tickets,” Leung said.

NOT FOR THEM

We dont want asian dweebs wearing the brand any way. 0 Cultural capital. Will bring our brand value down.

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

for all this time, I'm almost certain he think any article written about these sneakers is a W, even if he's getting clowned.

but yeah these will flop however the margins are so high that selling them for 1/4 the price will still be profitable and the obnoxious price tag has generated so much free publicity that it was worth it

Completely unironically.

decide if he's right or not.

more despite evrything else


http://www.nicekicks.com/facts-many-pairs-sneakers-big-baller-brand-actually-sell/


Make more white people mad/cry like jarulefest

But it seems people are having a similar agape reaction at BBB to the reaction folks had when LeBron had when he decided to go with Maverick Carter. That was unprecedented, like BBB, and many people said that LeBron's decision was foolish.

I'm obviously not in the demo for the shoe, but say LaMelo only makes 10M dollars this year with the shoe line. It's obviously not scratching Nike dollars, but 10M is a lot more than he would have gotten with any of the major companies.

Like I said, I don't like Levar but if he succeeds, he's be a visionary and would deserve the credit for being ahead of the curve of basketball marketing.

and it's not like his crew was on some "if you ain't talking trillions don't call us"

but I definitely remember people saying he would fail.

I think the criticism for Brons decision was pure jealousy because those suit and ties knew he was worth a Billion and he was freezing out white folk.

I don't think anyone is jealous of BBB.. it's more like "damn, this man may screw up his sons chance at some real money

I done tapped out of the sneaker game a decade ago, so I've lost touch a bit with the market. But is there really that strong a demand for generic looking $500 bball shoes????

If he's smart, he will follow up with a more affordable shoe while the brand is buzzing. If not, I can't see this shoe surviving.

Nike and Jordan have sold plenty of two-packs for $500 and Jordan has had a few models in the $400 range.

Obviously some of the $100-$250 ones have sold for $500+ and shortly after release.

Yeezys hitting for 1K and 2K resale after the $200 retail.

You can get $500 for some LeBrons and Kobes but they have to be older and pretty rare. I have sold some sample models well into the four figures and OG Jordans, too, but it's hard to manufacture that kind of demand and especially if you're selling in any quantity.

Lastly, who GAF about Lonzo Ball? These dudes are acting like he has the magnetism of LeBron, Kobe, AI, Jordan, Steph, Penny ... and when they were already established in the L. Also the shoe itself looks pretty cheaply made for $500, I mean what separates it from a low to mid 100s UA or Adidas release?

The website is also dinky as fuck. Errors on it, wording of an eighth-grader and it doesn't even explain the technology or materials in the shoe clearly (if at all).

Anyone who paid $500 for these should get robbed on principle. Lavar would probably sell me their addresses for the right price.

I just wondered because the seem to live in a nice house in a nice area and apparently have lived there since the boys were very young.

You can get a nice crib out there in Chino hills. The only ppl trying to move there are those wanting to get out the hood.

to get big houses for relatively cheap. The property values out there range, but you can still get a deal.

He got way ahead of himself and acted like an intellectual midget before multi-billion dollar companies. That was foolish on many levels.

However, now that they are going it alone, the $495 price tag is pretty brilliant. I think they could have put a little more into them to justify the price but it probably wasn't necessary since they will sell the majority for less and the full-priced ones they sell will be mostly on hype.

If BrandBlack or some other legit newcomer to the game had this idea, it would have been pretty smart. It is generating TONS of free publicity. He is doing NO advertising, just a dogshit GeoCities website with a shopping cart, some terse words and NO RETURNS OR EXCHANGES. How else could you generate articles in The New York Times, GQ, etc and get on every broadcast medium out there FOR FREE?

They will sell some at this price and they will sell more at a higher price than the production value, R&D and marketing merit. Pretty smart business decision but I am sure he will do something dumb next week to erase it. This guy is erratic and he is betting heavily on these kids. Ball needs to be a HUGE superstar for this to work, like a top three player in the L.

Especially with no returns or exchanges. Shit looks like a crowdsourcing scam.

It's may and they don't ship til November? Lmao...

They look like Under Armour shit you could buy for $30-$50 at Marshall's and the website as well as its way of doing business are incredibly unprofessional.

But would any of that not be true if there $115 instead of $495?

The price itself was a smart move to generate buzz around a piece of crap offering. That's all I am giving them here

I think he's in position to get plenty of promotion for the show right now, without pricing it like that.

If he had the signed shoes for 995 and the other shoe for $160 I think he gets the same publicity.

Make no mistake about it this venture is going to fall on its fucking face but the absurd price tag is the least of the reasons why

then his margins are zero and making all profit lol.

again, IF that's true..

CAKING!

in order for the manufacturers to turn on the machines.

I bet he needs 1000 orders or we won't see those shoes on the street.

It's not clear what but it indicates something about the soles being handmade. I don't know. For $495 the explanation and specs are razor thin.

As far as your observation, well, that's hard to say. I can say from experience that mass production and taking your chances with reduced prices is often a better model than making to order. I don't know about this case but I bet it is the case. Looking at the shoes the production cost can't be much higher than $20 a pair if that, and they aren't spending as much on R&D or advertising as their competitors. So it's quite possible than at a tenth of the asking price, there is still profit for them

So far, everything they've touted about it is aesthetic-focused

Bunch of knockoff tech that is sure to perform poorly, looks like a loosey goosey version of some $90 Under Armour upper and some crappy foam textured to look like Boost.

http://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/2017/05/08/report-less-than-300-big-baller-brand-shoes-were-sold-on-first-day/

Over the weekend, rumors swirled that the Ball family had netted themselves a seven-figure payday, selling upwards of 5,000 pairs of Lonzo Ball’s new, signature Big Baller Brand shoe, the ZO2.

That probably isn’t true.

The sneakerheads over at NiceKicks.com did the legwork, tracking invoice numbers — staffers there not only bought a pair of ZO2s, but they also snagged a pair of BBB shorts — and inventory levels to determine that the real number of shoes sold in the first day that the ZO2s were on sale was probably less than 300.

From Nice Kicks:


“Out of the 328 transactions that happened on BigBallerBrand.com in the first 24 hours that the shoes were offered for sale, we tracked that a total of just 263 pairs of sneakers had sold in both signed and unsigned versions of the ZO2 Prime.

While we have no access to sales receipts, transactions or traffic data, we have been monitoring the inventory levels of the footwear listed on BigBallerBrand.com. After noting the initial product levels at the start and deducting the current units sold, we can confidently say that 210 pairs of unsigned ZO2 Primes had sold (103 pairs in sz 8.5 alone), along with 53 autographed ZO2 Primes.”

By their count, the Ball family did a little more than $150,000 in total revenue in their first day in business.

That’s not bad, and it’s a nice little pool of cash to get their operation up and running, but it’s not millions and it’s certainly not, as LaVar Ball likes to put it, “about them B’s — billions.”

Where BBB goes from here will be fascinating. Personally, I’m rooting for the Ball family. I respect the hustle and the ambition, and I think that LaVar himself is pure comedy. But with the amount of attention that he got when this shoe was finally released last Thursday — Darren Rovell said on The Dan Le Betard Show that the social traction he got was worth $50 million in advertising — it’s not a great sign that he was only able to move 263 pairs.

That's only 250K or 500K if they were the $995 one (though I imagine many fewer than 5K will be made of those).


Let's also address the elephant in the room: The public DGAF about Lonzo Ball. Dude just doesn't have that kind of hype behind him

Lonzo needs the draft to get here tomorrow, so he can just get back to hooping.

Is Ja about to pop out behind that Lavar Ball mask?

I kind of hope/hoped that LaVar wasn't on some bullshit, but right today it's not looking so good.

I really hope, though, that he doesn't lean on Lonzo's rookie deal to fund BBB.

Especially when you consider that The Game reportedly ordered a couple pairs and since the Balls are not sending out weartest samples, a couple trade sites bought pairs to review. That means actual public interest was minimal, and that's being kind.

At the combine, Lonzo showed up in a pair of James Harden 1.0 Adidas. He recently "previewed on foot" the ZO2 but I don't know about him actually playing in them. I saw a pair the other day from my boy who works for a shoe site. HOT. FUCKING. GARBAGE. No structure to the upper and they look like some shit a stoned high school sophomore designed in NBA2K Create-A-Shoe. Dude will be lucky to get a deal with free stuff from BrandBlack or Peak at this point, unless he REALLY balls. This has to be one of the worst business ideas of all time.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-lonzo-ball-foot-locker-fathers-day-20170614-story.html

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/lonzo-ball-lavar-fathers-day-to-the-loudest-guy-in-the-gym/

https://sports.yahoo.com/ball-family-subject-facebook-docuseries-184252097.html?exp=vv

I thought Marbury already wrote the real-life winning guide here yet dudes are racing to the opposite, failing strategy. Can't wait to see his year 11 decision report.

https://bigballerbrand.com/products/video-feet-2

http://www.slamonline.com/kicks/exclusive-lonzo-ball-reveals-new-design-bbb-zo2-prime/#zwMWEM3zddcyLM0s.97

seems like a premium-priced Brandblack shoe, which isn't really the worst idea

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

so crazy, so if you already paid...you get this one whether you like it or not? LOL.

IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO NOT RECEIVE A REPLACEMENT ORDER, PLEASE CONTACT OUR HELP DESK BEFORE NOVEMBER 10th, 2017 TO MAKE ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS.



www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

what are those?: https://brandblack.com/collections/footwear

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2E_iPlORS0

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

haha.. that comment has me rolling

how the hell do you change a shoe design after I order it?

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

they look a lot like the lamelo model which looks a lot like the brand black metal joint.

btw on that note i have been hooping in some brandblack j crossover 2.5. GREAT shoe. initially i passed it over because it seemed a lot like the 2.0, which is a great casual shoe but just above average for bball. these have way tackier outsoles, a little more rubber in the midsole and much better containment in the upper. great shoe, i'd say top 20-25 that i have ever played in (and i've had em all since about 1995 plus a lot of older models I tried as well).

it's (hopefully, w/ the structural changes they've made)

an actually good shoe, and if he plays well, then they may have something.

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shaBrQC03po

https://www.nba.com/article/2019/04/03/lonzo-ball-sues-big-baller-co-founder-alleging-fraud

they put this guy in charge of a lot of money and branding stuff, yet they didn't know he did a seven-year bid for fraud? or a bid at all?

these are the dumbest mf'ers on the planet and anyone who was rooting for them should be ashamed. in some forums i noticed any blowback to this idiotic fucking venture was race-baiting and accusations. IMHO anyone who supported these clowns needs to take a look in the mirror. there are REAL black entrepreneurs and inventors who are successful AF and out there doing real shit. some of them even leveraged their identity smartly. it's a discredit to those people, who often get no attention, to make it out like a black dad owning something is some kind of unicorn that needed unilateral, unequivocal support. lamar is a dummy who's only talent is speaking loudly.

time friend of LaVar

they have known each other for a few years, maybe 10, they met a year after this dude got released from prison. shit is wild that they didn't even know. now lonzo basically folding the brand behind this, not that it needed much help.

i mean they had issues not only delivering the shoes--they said four months and it was more like eight when Nike ID can have your shit in two weeeks, six max--but with TEE SHIRTS. any dickhole with a silk screen can deliver bootleg tees for a concert that night, but these guys can't fill orders?

i wish i were the nike or adidas exec that had to field their "billion dollar proposal." i'd have been laughing like charlie murphy getting challenged by prince.

One of his kids somehow ended up the NBA and his bullshit checks had to be cashed. Trump shit. End of.

Everything the guy touches turns to shit and you can see Lonzo running from him now that he got out from under his thumb for a minute. It's sad that his dad's sheisty buddy was siphoning money from them both "legally" and it sounds like seven figures illegally, too. Live and learn, I guess. I haven't seen someone this exploited and roped by their parents since Jack Johnson.

https://twitter.com/thescore/status/1169328706998951937?s=21

Some people here were trying to defend this too. 😂

that was the initial few pairs

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

https://twitter.com/lighthartedpod/status/1169288869424091137

"Ever wonder why
@ZO2_
switched up his shoes every game during summer league rookie year? LightHarted gives you the exclusive look"


www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

Even if they made them the best shoes in the world later, it doesn’t change that they went to market with hugely expensive shoes that couldn’t make it through a goddamn game! lol

it was dumb that they ever had him play in shoes that were essentially mockups, but it was pretty evident once he never ever put them on again.

we do remember that he wore those for two games, never put them on again, and then started training camp and the season in a completely different shoe, right?

http://www.slamonline.com/kicks/exclusive-lonzo-ball-reveals-new-design-bbb-zo2-prime/#zwMWEM3zddcyLM0s.97

"With Lonzo having not worn the ZO2s since Game 2 of Summer League (July 8), the speculation carried over into August. But with training camp now just a handful of days away, the No. 2 overall pick is officially putting any remaining rumors to rest.

In the video above, he reveals a complete redesign of the original ZO2 Prime silhouette while touting it “the lightest basketball shoe ever made.”"

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

those weren't "production" shoes

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

>

I can't imagine what it was like to play in them shits, but he never had a failure on court, meanwhile zion busted through a nike that duke gave him. shit happens.


www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

one game, tho?

that's like pre-rolled 100 dolla bill stove lighters.


peace & blessings,

x.

www.twitter.com/poetx

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I'm an advocate for working smarter, not harder. If you just
focus on working hard you end up making someone else rich and
not having much to show for it. (c) mad

The rest of a family is a train wreck.

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