I just watched some videos on ESPN of the Luke after the draft. He said the decision wasn't his, but he wanted Lonzo. Big fan of his game. Talked to his dad who did a lot of UCLA games, who said Lavar was never a problem. And Luke mentioned his own dad being a distraction and his teammates gave him a hard time at first because of comments from his dad, but in the end, it made him better. Also mentioned that Lavar said the Lakers will make the playoffs and "he's been right so far."
Now that I'm over the disappointment of no George trade, I can finally step back and allow myself to be happy that we actually have Lonzo Ball. This kid is damned good. So what if we did our due diligence and looked at other kids? We picked Lonzo for a reason and that's because he's a special talent. Felt like too many people got down on Ball just because of the way the media ran with the smokescreens. I'm gonna have a blast rooting for him. I'm from the I.E. and went to UCLA so the whole hometown thing isn't just a novelty. It genuinely is exciting to imagine the kid from my area being one of the next transcendent Laker players. There is a LOT of hype to live up to partially just because that story would be so great. But my eye test tells me that he can do it if he keeps working hard. And while I'm at it, I'm also rooting for Lavar. I don't understand all the vitriol towards a good dad whose trying to build a business. Not gonna lie, I'm probably gonna cop some BBB apparel in addition to my Ball Lakers jersey. EDIT: Yeeeah... never mind about buying BBB apparel lol. Just checked out their website. I'm not dropping that kind of cash on such basic t-shirts. Good luck though!
He's only said one thing that I truly didn't like (can't win with 3 white players). Otherwise, he's promoting his brand and elevating his son (Lonzo was BY FAR the most popular player in the draft, despite not going #1). Lavar is a fantastic father. Raising 3 great kids. But people love to put people down. he can take it. He's playing it up and that's fine by me. Just keep doing right by your son who has the weight of our franchise on his 19 year old shoulders.
Well...they chose Ball so now it's about building a cast of "shooters" for him to set up. Hart, Kuzma, Lopez et all. Really looking forward to Summer League.
I saw the interview with Rob where he used the "T" word to describe Lonzo. Described him as a once in a decade type talent.
I think it was always Ball, but they did what a good front office does. Evaluate, investigate, research, and repeat as necessary. Maybe I'm a homer, but it sounds like Luke really wanted him. In contrast, Ainge said he woulda took Tatum at 1 if he stayed there. Yeah, riiiiiiight. Josh pissed them off and they went elsewhere. He knows that's who he wanted.
Josh Jackson gets kudos for screwing with the C Bags ... they were flying to Sacto for his workout and he cancelled the workout while they were in flight. That's a BIG BALLER!
Simmons and Embiid... what a joke. 4 seasons and 31 games played between them. And Simmons in particular... play A game. ONE game in the NBA and then come talk.
Arrrggghh. Was great to have the blond reporter in the left background and the bald dude with glasses same on the right, in sharp focus for 4 minutes with Luke way out of it. I know .... picky picky picky.
Hadn't heard that and wondered why they didn't take him. What was the deal, he didn't want to be a C bag and preferred the Suns?