LaVar Ball’s grand plan to get his three sons to play in the NBA (preferably together on the L.A. Lakers) used to be based on all three playing at UCLA and then taking their talents to the Association.
However, plans have changed and the Bruins are no longer the Ball boys’ pipeline to the league. While playing at UCLA vaulted Lonzo into his status as one of the top prospects in the most recent NBA Draft and to the Lakers with the No. 2 pick, LaVar sees the writing on the wall with regards to LiAngelo and LaMelo.
He’s pulled both out of school, LiAngelo out of UCLA and LaMelo out of Chino Hills High School, with the original thought to prepare them for the NBA himself. Now, the plan is for his two youngest sons to play together overseas in order to continue developing and play against professional competition.
LaVar told ESPN’s Jeff Goodman both LiAngelo and LaMelo (despite only being 16) have signed with agent Harrison Gaines, who represents Lonzo, and are actively looking for a deal to play together overseas in either Europe or Asia.
“I don’t care about the money,” LaVar Ball said on Thursday morning. “I want them to go somewhere where they will play them together on the court at the same time. The priority is for the boys to play on the same team.”
There are obvious ramifications for LaMelo, who was still a UCLA commit for 2019 despite leaving high school to be homeschooled, as his signing with an agent means college hoops is no longer in his future. The likelihood of LaMelo playing for UCLA was seemingly dwindling by the day, especially after LiAngelo was plucked out of school, but this decision confirmed the youngest Ball brother would not every appear in a Bruins jersey.
However, there is one more major implication if the Ball boys land on a team overseas together. LaVar wants a strong support group around them wherever they go and will have their uncles stay with them, but that’s not enough for the very beginning of their overseas careers.
“There will be three people with them all the time,” LaVar said. “I’ll go back and forth and probably stay out there a while at first.”
The Lakers will likely be very pleased to hear about this news, after having to start enforcing the “LaVar Ball Rule” after games to keep media out of the family section, as will those tired of LaVar’s constant presence on sports television. That’s not to say we won’t hear from LaVar by way of people like Goodman and others that are plugged into the Ball family, but it might be nice for everyone to get a break from basketball’s most famous dad for a bit.
