The man behind eye popping headlines before his son entered the league has acted like every parent whose son plays in the world’s premier club basketball league would. Guardians enjoy their children’s success from courtside seats and suites all over arenas around the league.
However, when those players-their children- are hard pressed in uncomfortable situations, they step in and make their voices heard. Prior to announcing his intention to leave New Orleans Pelicans, Anthony Davis’ father wasn’t a topic of discussion in the media.
However, when his son’s name got mentioned as a potential trade target for Boston Celtics, he vented his displeasure so loud it caught everyone’s attention.
The average NBA fan knows about Kawhi Leonard and his mild spoken side that makes it so hard to gauge his free agency move correctly. His private life is all but nonexistent through eight seasons in the league until San Antonio Spurs hostile reception got his mother to step up and let detractors hear it.
Lavar Ball is the opposite of the average parent of a top talented NBA player after comparing his son’s skills to legendary figures in the sport like Magic Johnson and Steph Curry.
He was wrong on that front and has been wrong on so many fronts but in light of recent discussions regarding Lonzo’s future with the team, Lavar has made a statement that is by far the most accurate and realistic he has ever made relating to his son’s fit in the NBA.
Davis’ trade request has ignited a fire storm that could leave New Orleans Pelicans torched forever as a serious NBA franchise. Clearly, Davis is angling for a move to the Lakers who have to trade a ton of talented young players on cheap contracts to get him. Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Ivica Zubac and Josh Hart have been included in one potential trade package or another.
Lonzo Ball is heavily included in such prospective packages to the chagrin of Lavar who is clearly not comfortable with the idea of Lonzo ending up in New Orleans. “He’s a better fit in Phoenix because they got some young athletes, they’ve been losing, they need a winning attitude. The Lakers gave my boy that losing attitude” Lavar said in response. As crazy as the losing attitude comment sounds-because Phoenix Suns have lost a lot more games than the Lakers have in recent years-Papa Lonzo is right. Lonzo Ball is a perfect fit for Phoenix which is a team in desperate need for a Point Guard.
Thanks to Suns bad management, Phoenix doesn’t have an NBA starting caliber player at the Guard position and has been forced to play Shooting Guard Devin Booker at the spot. Booker is very comfortable on the wing and does a lot of great stuff there but he is “just okay” creating plays for the young team. The Suns play D’Anthony Melton as its starting Point Guard after trading away Isaiah Canaan, Isaiah Thomas, Brandon Knight, Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and waiving Austin Rivers. Phoenix didn’t help itself either in the draft after picking Josh Jackson ahead of De’Aaron Fox in 2017 and selecting guys like Alex Len, Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss with high lottery picks.
Following years of steep decline, Phoenix has managed to get the foundational pieces for its future in Booker and 2018 first overall pick DeAndre Ayton. Conversely, the team needs a distributor to get the best out of Ayton and Booker unlike the Pelicans who have that in Jrue Holiday and Elfrid Payton.
This is where Lonzo Ball steps in as a pass first Point Guard who does a fine job defending opposing players through three positions. Ball is averaging 9.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 5.4 assists this season playing next to the ball dominant LeBron James. The Suns rank 23rd on offense in the league and 28th on defense and are in clear need of Lonzo’s skills as a long armed creator and disruptor.
The Lakers are ready to give Ball a whole lot of assets up for Davis and when they do, Phoenix Suns should be ready to part ways with draft picks for Ball. After securing enough votes for public funds to renovate the Talking Sticks Arena, Phoenix Suns are on the clock to build a contender in the next few seasons to keep the team in the city. Building a “Big 3” of Lonzo Ball, Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton -all under 23 years old- is a the first step in doing so.Lavar Ball is definitely right with this assessment.
By Yaw Adjei-Mintah
@YawMintYM on Twitter
