UCLA Basketball: Will LaVar Ball Watch What He Says After Shoes Companies Pass On Signing Lonzo?

Last week, Nike, Adidas and Under Armor collectively passed on signing Lonzo Ball after a year of boisterous comments from his father LaVar Ball. Will dad watch his words going forward or has this circus act just started?

Two things could have happened with LaVar Ball and all his outlandish comments as his first son makes it to the NBA coming from the UCLA Basketball team: (1) he gets everything that he demanded in the last year or (2) he gets absolutely nothing.

Guess which one he got?

Last week, after a year of loudmouth statements, demands and one racially motivated accusation, the top three shoe companies in the world all gave the Ball family and their Big Baller Brand the collective “No, thank you”.

Promotions and marketing is a very intricate part of business which LaVar Ball has failed at. Yes, it is great that he has his own brand and wants to promote his kids, but the way he did it is not what happens in the business world. For example, you don’t go to the biggest shoe companies and demand $100 million. It’s just not how it’s done.

BREAKING: Nike, Under Armour & adidas passing on Lonzo Ball after LaVar insisted on them licensing Big Baller Brand https://t.co/Z25NmPOX1G
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 28, 2017

In this country, people actually work for what they receive and though Lonzo Ball will be a successful basketball player, he did not bring any hardware to UCLA and has yet to play a single game in the Association, so there’s no way he was going to get everything that his dad demanded with out proof of a payout.

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And look where that leaves Lonzo, LaVar, (and in the future) LiAngelo and Lamelo. They have nothing. At least they have nothing right now. Sure, Lonzo will be a top pick in the NBA Draft and instantly make a lot of money, but it is not what LaVar envisioned.

Not only do the three top shoe companies want nothing to do with Lonzo Ball, but they will also probably stay away from the two younger sons if Lavar continues.

On top of that, the Big Baller Brand that LaVar has been boasting about since he got to Westwood still has no backing.

It’s unfortunate what the dad has done to affect his kids and their future as he has probably cost Lonzo (and quite possibly his two other sons in the future) millions of dollars. Still, Lavar has to learn the hard way that just because you have the loudest mouth doesn’t mean you have the best product. It just means you have the loudest mouth, which many grew tired of very quickly.

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So where does that leave LaVar now? Well, if he learns anything from this, hopefully it is that he needs to slow his roll. Just because he whiffed with Lonzo getting a contract, it is not too late to make things right for LiAngelo and Lamelo. But let us be serious, does anyone expect LaVar to calm down?