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Forum nameOkay Sports
Topic subjectIs Lavar Ball a genius?
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=8&topic_id=2725747
2725747, Is Lavar Ball a genius?
Posted by legsdiamond, Thu Nov-19-20 01:09 PM
I found him entertaining and annoying but I’m seeing a few post praising this dude as some genius because of his sons accomplishments.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s awesome to have kids who achieve this type of success but people act like it’s the first time we have seen a family with multiple siblings in the pros.

Is it because they were over drafted due to his hype?

I don’t want to sound like I’m hating but I side eye the fuck out of these dudes online pushing this man as some type of person to emulate when it comes to their kids having success.

But maybe I’m trippin’


2725756, It’s definitely hype.
Posted by allStah, Thu Nov-19-20 01:43 PM
He is an illustration of what not to do when it comes to parents raising or training their offsprings to become athletes.

This isn’t anything new. The real genius is Serena’s father. He did it without the overzealous behavior, and both of his daughters are legends. Or Archie Manning and his sons, Or The Curry brothers.

The Balls aren’t that good and haven’t accomplished anything. Now had he gone about it in a different way, then I’m sure the perception would be different.

I was big on LaMelo a few years ago, but his shooting and defense look worse. And he is going to a team that’s not known for development. They got lucky with Kemba because he was already polished coming out of UConn.

I wish him well.
2725764, I feel like Gelo would be in the league if he wasn't so dumb...
Posted by ThaTruth, Thu Nov-19-20 01:58 PM
>I found him entertaining and annoying but I’m seeing a few
>post praising this dude as some genius because of his sons
>accomplishments.
>
>Don’t get me wrong. It’s awesome to have kids who achieve
>this type of success but people act like it’s the first time
>we have seen a family with multiple siblings in the pros.
>
>Is it because they were over drafted due to his hype?
>
>I don’t want to sound like I’m hating but I side eye the
>fuck out of these dudes online pushing this man as some type
>of person to emulate when it comes to their kids having
>success.
>
>But maybe I’m trippin’

I wouldn't call LaVar a "genius" but he and wifey definitely have good genes and aside from thr antics LaVar did train the hell out of his sons, he let is boy get over on them with the BBB foolishness but I feel like the basketball stuff can't be questioned, 2 of his sons were top 3 picks
2725766, This is the first time two brothers went top 3
Posted by Cold Truth, Thu Nov-19-20 02:02 PM
That's incredible.

I don't view him as a genius though.

He had kids who had talent, he pushed them, and they succeeded to a high level. That's no small feat, any less than raising multiple children to become successful doctors or lawyers.

But that wouldn't make those parents geniuses.

He's just a blowhard who likes to hear his own voice and likes the spotlight.
2725776, I mean, he's kinda Donald Trump.
Posted by Ryan M, Thu Nov-19-20 02:25 PM
He's a fantastic marketer and entertaining as hell, even if what he's saying is utter trash. His business dealings have been horrible but nobody cares, and he talks about his kids as if they're the best players to ever touch a basketball.

The reality is, without Lavar, Lonzo probably still gets drafted top 5 and PROBABLY isn't seen as such a disappointment. TBD on LaMelo but to me right today he doesn't even seem as good as Lonzo.
2725811, yeah my friend often made that comparison too, pretty accurate.
Posted by ConcreteCharlie, Thu Nov-19-20 05:34 PM
hard to say what impact he had on either kid vis a vis the nba exactly but i dont think the hype helped them. like you said they both stumbled around and in part because of his shenanigans. maybe that wound up well for lamelo because of his australia experience but he could have played for a top program in the NCAA as well. lonzo had some early stumbles but dunno how much lavar's antics contributed to that if at all. but to act like he is playing 3d chess in a checkered world is just asinine, the guy is a loudmouth with next to no integrity
2726177, Nope. He raised talented, hard working children.
Posted by Orbit_Established, Tue Nov-24-20 01:03 PM


Trump hasn't raised shit
2726252, Is that all you got out of that?
Posted by Ryan M, Wed Nov-25-20 03:29 PM
Cool.
2726262, Naw give credit: He raised two hard working, all-world talented sons.
Posted by Orbit_Established, Wed Nov-25-20 09:19 PM

And at least Lonzo and Lamelo seem like good young men
(I know LiAngelo got in trouble, doesn't mean he isn't...
...I just can't speak on it).


Give him credit.


No one ever did what we did in hoop.


Give him credit.

2726264, Both of those can be true, you know.
Posted by Ryan M, Wed Nov-25-20 09:26 PM
2725790, nah but i do think he is a great father from what i've seen
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Thu Nov-19-20 03:35 PM
the BBB shitshow and his inability to avoid the spotlight keeps me from calling him a genius.

but overall i just see a father that loves his kids and put a lifetime of effort into helping them fulfill their dreams. Gelo fumbled but thats on him.
2725799, idk who is calling him a genius
Posted by Rjcc, Thu Nov-19-20 04:20 PM
he wanted to get his sons to the NBA, and by any measure he did an outstanding job of that

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at
2725810, They weren't "over drafted" though
Posted by ConcreteCharlie, Thu Nov-19-20 05:30 PM
Lonzo had a lot of buzz around him before his dad came to light and Lamelo's stock came up once Lavar fell back a little and the whole BBB brand fell apart.

Let's recap some of the "genius" moves he Lavar has made:

-Wanted $1 billion for his three sons, one of whom didn't make the NBA, another who looks like an above average player and another whose career was circling the drain until he found the right place last year. That's LeBron and Michael money, not top 5 pick money.

-Instead launched a brand that charged $500 to $1000 per pair and would only produce to demand, making customers pay this exorbitant sum months in advance. By the time they got their products, the design changed completely to a shoe that was already released by another company.

-That company went belly up and in the process a family friend that the "genius" introduced his sons to and got involved in the business ripped off Lonzo for seven figures.

-Let us not forget that this bench warmer at a middling program would have easily beaten/destroyed Michael Jordan one on one, a claim that really goes beyond any garbage even Trump and other dangerous liars have said.

I could go on here. The guy might have done a good job coaching his kids or he might not have. They are local guys and I'm glad two of them made it. But he has done them a huge disservice and needed to fall the fuck back way before he did. The Lakers certainly didn't want his dumb ass around. He is not a smart or good person, he mostly seems to have given the kids decent genes and his wife did the same. By many accounts in this area she was kind of the straw that stirred the drink in their house. Opinions seem mixed on Lavar but I'm not privy to all that and not here to talk about his parenting. The question is if he was a genius and he most certainly is not
2725841, I'll give him credit for his vision but "Genius" is in the execution
Posted by Cocobrotha2, Fri Nov-20-20 10:52 AM
Lavar had a lofty vision of 3 sons that would dominate in the NBA and in the marketplace through related ventures.

That will partially become reality... 2of 3 sons in the NB who should be above average players and, therefore, decently marketable. He had a hand in helping them get there but some of his actions have hurt them as well.

Overall, I'd consider him to basically be successful and would be happy to even have a 10th of that kind of success with my family. But he ain't genius level.
2725847, People think the genius is the show he created for hype
Posted by legsdiamond, Fri Nov-20-20 01:03 PM
I’m not sure Lamelo is picked 3rd if his last name was Johnson.

He’s no genius but he did a great job hyping them up before he fucked it all up with those shoes and the circus act.
2725856, so is it you who thinks this or unnamed people
Posted by Rjcc, Fri Nov-20-20 04:05 PM
because unnamed people are dumb as shit, or maybe you are.

lamelo's a 6'7 point guard with professional experience. He's not going lower than 5.

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at
2725849, Yep. He executed the vision
Posted by Amritsar, Fri Nov-20-20 01:40 PM
it could easily have gone the way of Julian Newman and his dad


Speaking of which. The fact that there are even Lavar copy cats like the Newmans...
2725850, Yes hyped his lesser talented children
Posted by Musa, Fri Nov-20-20 01:42 PM
into top 10 draft picks.
2725854, so Zo and Melo aren't talented now?
Posted by ThaTruth, Fri Nov-20-20 03:32 PM
2725907, They ain't top 10 draft worthy AT ALL
Posted by Musa, Fri Nov-20-20 11:44 PM
.

Super athletic NOPE

Good fundamentals NOPE

Good shooter Nope

Never said they ain't have talent. LaMelo ain't a top three pick.

I forgot where Lonzo went but I remember the hype job of him being the next magic.... STAPH.
2726123, you're wrong just like you usually are about everything else...
Posted by ThaTruth, Mon Nov-23-20 03:29 PM
>.
>
>Super athletic NOPE
>
>Good fundamentals NOPE
>
>Good shooter Nope
>
>Never said they ain't have talent. LaMelo ain't a top three
>pick.
>
>I forgot where Lonzo went but I remember the hype job of him
>being the next magic.... STAPH.

The only thing Zo doesn't do at a high level is shoot. Nobody EVER said anything about "the next Magic", there might have been some Jason Kidd comparisons which is a big stretch also at this point but the the bottom line is the dude can play. The Lakers were ready to win NOW and didn't have time to wait on his development.

As for as LaMelo in this draft, nobody knows anything about those kids coming out so its all a crapshoot at this point. Melo is a lot similar to his older brother while being a better shooter.
2726149, NOT TOP 10 draft picks
Posted by Musa, Mon Nov-23-20 09:58 PM
if so maybe 10 and that is a stretch.
2726204, stopped reading at "they don't have good fundamentals" lol
Posted by Frank Longo, Wed Nov-25-20 01:00 AM
LaMelo is the best passer in the draft and almost certainly the best ballhandler. Lonzo is one of the best passers in the NBA and has become in a very short time frame an incredibly savvy team defender. Both are really good rebounders for their positions too.

There are plenty of reasons to criticize the Balls. And yes, the hype for Lonzo was too high (I would argue the LaMelo hype is justified considering how weak this class is). But we don't need to pretend like we don't understand why they got drafted where they did. They play the most important position in the NBA, they have exceptional positional size, and they're both elite passers-- so they both possess absurd upside.

Like, if Lonzo could become a 40% 3PT shooter somehow, he'd be dropping 18-7-7 on the season and would be an obvious NBA All-Star. That's a giant fucking "if," lol, but it's clear that that's why teams picked him there. You could potentially teach Zo to shoot like Monte Morris, but you can't ever teach Monte Morris to be 6'6 with a 6'9 wingspan. That's why Monte was a second rounder and Lonzo was the second overall.

We can debate all day if we think they'd hit that upside, but the draft goes based on upside, and that's why they got picked where they did.
2726235, Lonzo was definitely 10 draft worthy in 2017, even with hindsight
Posted by mrhood75, Wed Nov-25-20 01:08 PM
I don't even like Zo and I know that's true.

Let's look at the top 10 in his draft class, shall we?

Markelle Fultz
Lonzo Ball
Jayson Tatum
Josh Jackson
DeAaron Fox
Jonathan Isaac
Lauri Markkanen
Frank Ntilikina
Dennis Smith Jr.
Zach Collins

Ball is certainly better than the guy that went before him. Of the guys who went after him in the top 10, Tatum, Fox, and arguably Markkanen are better.

Now, outside of the top 10, Donovan Mitchell and Bam Adebayo are better than him, but they're better than everyone in that draft. Josh Collins is better, but he's also better than everyone in the top 10 not named Tatum. Only other players in the conversation are Kyle Kuzma and Jarrett Allen.

So at worst Ball is the 9th best player in the draft, which, you know, still puts him in the top 10.

2726242, Fultz had mental issues then went to the trash heap that is Philly
Posted by Musa, Wed Nov-25-20 01:50 PM
Sports media.

That was a so so draft but I will give you 10th overall.

Yet and still not what he was touted to be.

Is he trash not at all.

He could be a solid allstar but lets not act like he is a no brainer top draft pick.
2726251, If you cut Fultz slack for his psychological issues...
Posted by mrhood75, Wed Nov-25-20 03:18 PM
...then you cut Ball slack for his injuries. Works both ways.

>Yet and still not what he was touted to be.
>
>Is he trash not at all.
>
>He could be a solid allstar but lets not act like he is a no brainer top >draft pick.

Again, the best players in that draft were 13 & 14, which are end of the lottery picks, which means all the worst teams passed on the them.

About two-thirds of the league passed on Collins, Kuzma, and Allen. No one saw them as can't miss prospects.

Ball was never going to go any lower than #3.
2726243, Isaac probably was better too, but for injury
Posted by thejerseytornado, Wed Nov-25-20 01:58 PM
we'll see how he returns, but I think I'd rather have had Isaac than Ball pre-Isaac injury this year. dude was quietly improving a lot

-----------
you think we playing chess, but i'm playing mad-making. Basaglia
2726244, Ball was nothing less than an elite PG prospect.
Posted by Orbit_Established, Wed Nov-25-20 01:59 PM

Anyone arguing otherwise is on drugs
2726692, DEFINE ELITE
Posted by Musa, Wed Dec-02-20 03:34 PM
?

Good sure

SOLID indeed.

competent yessir

ELITE!?!?!?!?!
2725857, this is unfair. You make it sound like his kids are Julian Newman
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Fri Nov-20-20 04:09 PM
Zo and Melo have proved themselves to belong at every step of the way and stand out at the HS and College level
Zo may just be a guy in the NBA and Melo is TBD

but lesser talented is grossly inaccurate
2725908, Naw I was clear in what I said they ain't top 10 draft worthy
Posted by Musa, Fri Nov-20-20 11:45 PM
.
2726120, He'll be on Club Shay Shay (Shannon Sharpe's podcast) today 11/23
Posted by Boogie Stimuli, Mon Nov-23-20 03:14 PM
https://www.youtube.com/c/ClubShayShay/videos
2726175, It's today 11/24, my bad. Premiering now.
Posted by Boogie Stimuli, Tue Nov-24-20 12:22 PM
2726139, His marketing shit was genius.
Posted by Castro, Mon Nov-23-20 06:03 PM
Especially using wwe.

If that guy who helping him run the apparel biz wasn't a snake, LaVar
would be sitting on a grip of money.
2726178, How we can poo poo a dad raising two top 5 picks is beyond me.
Posted by Orbit_Established, Tue Nov-24-20 01:05 PM

Lavar isn't a Manning; he's not independently wealthy.


He raised them kids to be highly skilled, hard working

Good for him


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "
2726203, ^^^^
Posted by Castro, Tue Nov-24-20 10:39 PM
2726255, Easily, he’s BLACK. The same was done with Richard Williams.
Posted by ThaTruth, Wed Nov-25-20 05:55 PM
2726263, Odd how no one gives Lavar credit for his kids MENTAL preparation
Posted by Orbit_Established, Wed Nov-25-20 09:21 PM

LaMelo and Lonzo are both high IQ passers who understand
the game well

Funny how no one gives the black dad any credit for that


Whole saga is so comically racist I don't even know where
to start

And mind you, I think Lavar is a silly nigga who I don't
agree with on a lot of things. But the FIRST thing that
MUST be said his story is how he raised HARD WORKING,
SMART, and EXCELLENT black men. PERIOD.

Everything else is in paragraph 2 or 3.


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "
2726266, i dont know about genius but he's a great dad*
Posted by guru0509, Wed Nov-25-20 11:38 PM
*except for the whole BBB brand thing..

he needed to fall back on that shit, it was ugly and contrived and cost Lonzo alot of valuable NIKE promo that he could have banked on as a rookie, instead of some shitty shoes that fell apart on national tv
2726689, LiAngelo signed with the Pistons? Oh, he's a genius.
Posted by Orbit_Established, Wed Dec-02-20 03:24 PM

2726691, Never Lawst
Posted by BrooklynWHAT, Wed Dec-02-20 03:32 PM
>
>
2726734, Been been.
Posted by Castro, Wed Dec-02-20 07:37 PM
2726735, preseason practice squad / g league deal
Posted by Rjcc, Wed Dec-02-20 07:38 PM
he's not on the team just yet

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