OT: At least we have Lavar Ball to keep us laughing

[Rocktheworld]

Going overseas = brand growth,

Hahaha oh boy here we go

more PT for LiAngelo,

Why is Gelo still even playing? He is NEVER seeing an NBA court.

grown men to play with for LaMelo,

Lol cool the minor league in Lithuania. Where his team, as resource-deprived as it is, is 4-1. He would be playing better competition right in front of NBA scouts against future NBA players if he stayed here. It’s amazing the mental gymnastics you’ve been accomplishing thus far in this post and thread.

and they learn to be professionals

We’ll see how Lavar handles that. Might take his toys back home again after a week or so if he doesn’t get what he wants

In the process as I've stated earlier they get to show their worth to other European clubs if this new team gets major money off of viewers and fans from his kids playing there.

I think you need to look more in to just how bad this program is. You couldn’t be spouting crap like this otherwise.

It's not as crazy as people think. It's just never been done before but a lot of stuff this family is doing has never been done before.

No, it’s not crazy; it’s stupid.

And yes plenty of people and families have already gotten rich for being famous after whoring (sometimes literally) themselves into fame

 

[Walker11]

Going overseas = brand growth, more PT for LiAngelo, grown men to play with for LaMelo, and they learn to be professionals. In the process as I've stated earlier they get to show their worth to other European clubs if this new team gets major money off of viewers and fans from his kids playing there. It's not as crazy as people think. It's just never been done before but a lot of stuff this family is doing has never been done before.

They are playing in a Lithuanian village for a mediocre to low level team. The reports I have read say they are likely to play for this crappy programs junior team. Like I said, this very well may be great for their reality show brand. You seem emotionally invested to this story. Believe it or not, I am pro BBB but this doesn't look like it's going to end well for their hoops future, at least.

 

[intlzncster]

they get to show their worth to other European clubs if this new team gets major money off of viewers and fans from his kids playing there. It's not as crazy as people think. It's just never been done before but a lot of stuff this family is doing has never been done before.

I do think you're underestimating how good the other Euro Leagues are. Neither of these kids are going anywhere near the big time. I remember when Brandon Jennings went over there for a year. He was a vastly superior player to both these kids; he really struggled. Nobody is taking you under their wing. They are all looking to kill you. It's purely a job and everybody wants to eat. Teams don't care about star power or money as much as winning. If you're good, you'll play.

 

[Robertelamin]

What brand growth? They are going to be on some minor league team in the Baltics.

 

[Stainmaster]

I do think you're underestimating how good the other Euro Leagues are. Neither of these kids are going anywhere near the big time. I remember when Brandon Jennings went over there for a year. He was a vastly superior player to both these kids; he really struggled. Nobody is taking you under their wing. They are all looking to kill you. It's purely a job and everybody wants to eat. Teams don't seem to care about star power as much as winning. If you're good, you'll play.

There are decent leagues in Europe. LaVar was not able to land his kids in one.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

in hindsight, the US should have traded China the old man for the UCLA youngsters release

Xi said, "no thanks"!

 

[Rocktheworld]

There are decent leagues in Europe. LaVar was not able to land his kids in one.

The obsession with having Melo and Gelo play on the same team is some kind of arcane “calculation” Lavar must have made. Because it is abundantly clear that that was the only criterion for signing with a team.

The funny part is that this program is the best they could get

The sad part is that Melo could possibly be in a decent legit program right now if he weren’t a package deal with Gelo.

Let Melo do that (or stay here where he was doing and was going to do JUST FINE), and like I said before keep Gelo in college to get a business, finance, marketing, whatever degree to help run the company. Because he ain’t the talent people are paying a cent to see.

 

[Stainmaster]

The obsession with having Melo and Gelo play on the same team is some kind of arcane “calculation” Lavar must have made. Because it is abundantly clear that that was the only criterion for signing with a team.

The funny part is that this program is the best they could get

The sad part is that Melo could possibly be in a decent legit program right now if he weren’t a package deal with Gelo.

Let Melo do that (or stay here where he was doing and was going to do JUST FINE), and like I said before keep Gelo in college to get a business, finance, marketing, whatever degree to help run the company. Because he ain’t the talent people are paying a cent to see.

Agree 100%. ESPN had Melo ranked 7th in his class. He definitely has enough talent for a higher-tier European/Chinese/Aussie club to bring him on à la Emmanuel Mudiay or Terrance Ferguson.

 

[intlzncster]

Agree 100%. ESPN had Melo ranked 7th in his class. He definitely has enough talent for a higher-tier European/Chinese/Aussie club to bring him on à la Emmanuel Mudiay or Terrance Ferguson.

ftfy

 

[Stainmaster]

ftfy

Oh boy...shame on me.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

The kids at UNC were done a disservice. Especially the ones who never went pro. That's where it matters most. They don't have basketball to fall back on.

You're using the best players as examples. LiAngelo might never be able to hack it in Euro pro ball, never mind the League. Kid needs things to fall back on to be his own man. I guess he can live off of the collective family money just fine; basically a silver spoon kid.

Who knows what LaMelo could be. Will depend on his frame, and more importantly on his on and off the court discipline and will to get better.



How are they entrepreneurs? I mean, their dad has BBB, which could be an utter bust. They have a lot of insta followers I guess.

Lebron is not a useful comparison here tho. Guy was the best player in the world, and the most recognizable basketball star on the planet. Easy to be a good businessman in that scenario. Had 100s of millions to work with.

Yeah I'm not sure about LiAngelo at all. He is a shooter for sure but outside of that he's not a great athlete. But hey if he can learn to eventually play some defense there could be an NBA team willing to have a 6'6 linebacker for a shooter. Is this team the best place to learn that? No. But hey he has 2-3 years before they figure out if he can go to the league or learn to run the family business.

But they literally have a family business that can be taught to them on how to run it. Lebron had 100 millions where he had to learn to make the right investment moves. These kids have a brand that they can move any which way with once they learn the business. It's never too late to go back to school either FWIW.

I watch their reality TV show honestly and the things this family does is nuts. They are loaded so the business must be doing well. Lonzo's rookie contract isn't worth as much as all of the things they do and buy.

You're right in that LaMelo's career is completely dependent on how hard he works and wants it. Scoring wise he can be the best out of his brothers. He just has to learn how to make his teammates better like Lonzo and he can be a serious problem.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Lol google “Prienu”

... been to many places in many countries; Prienu/Prienai falls pretty darn low on the favorable side. It wasn't my choice to go, but I managed to get the puck out after one night.

Prienu Vytautas fields teams in the Lithuanian (LKL) league, the nation's top league, and the lesser quality Baltic league. Purportedly for free (as in, not paid), guess which league the Ball boys reportedly may attempt to play a little? Guess which league it won't be too surprising if they don't long ... ? On or off the court, if some guy named Arturas or Jonas doesn't rearrange one or more of the Balls' faces and teeth it may be even less surprising.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Agree 100%. ESPN had Melo ranked 7th in his class. He definitely has enough talent for a higher-tier European/Chinese/Aussie club to bring him on à la Emmanuel Mudiay or Terrance Ferguson.

Depends on how much you value Fran Frascilla’s (sic?) opinion, but apparently he ranked all the 12 non-NBA leagues and put Aussie/Lithuania/China in the bottom 3

 

[joober jones]

Why can't he be more like LeVar Burton?

 

[Huskyforlife]

Even though this is a dumb move, everyone acting like Lavar has been an overall negative on these kids lives is incorrect. He has them set up for life, whether basketball works out for them, or not.

 

[intlzncster]

Anyone know what LaVar has been doing for the last 20 years or so? How'd he earn a crust? Serious question.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Caron weighs in.

 

[don356]

My prediction is they will last about a week to 10 days over there max.

 

[intlzncster]

Even though this is a dumb move, everyone acting like Lavar has been an overall negative on these kids lives is incorrect. He has them set up for life, whether basketball works out for them, or not.

It depends what your goals are. Money or overall growth as a human being? No answer from my end, but if I had to pick in that situation, I'd want the college experience and all that entails on and off the court. So many pros lament how good of a time they had in college compared to their 'job'. LaMelo's only 16.

Anyway, it's not like LaVar has completely failed his kids or anything. He's done plenty right. But some suspect choices in there.

 

[intlzncster]

My prediction is they will last about a week to 10 days over there max.

Apparently it's only a month contract to start, so if either side wants to go their own way after that, they can. The club is treating this as an experiment.

 

[Tommyboy]

This is a funny video from a fake Lithuanian travel agency:

 

[traitor71]

 

[Travelman6]

This is a funny video from a fake Lithuanian travel agency:

Funny.

Looks like your average village you will find, with differing variations depending on region, in most of the world outside of the major cities. Nothing horrible, nothing special. Lived in that kind of place in China (pollution was AWFUL though), Colombia, France and now here in Guatemala. I guess from their background, it will likely be a culture shock, but the average person would adjust just fine, if, for instance, they got a job teaching at that local school shown in the video, for example.

Any way, with these two the way they were raised, I think there is a big chance they do not make the month, partially due to just how different it is likely to be. There is a reason that clause was included.

Even though this is a dumb move, everyone acting like Lavar has been an overall negative on these kids lives is incorrect. He has them set up for life, whether basketball works out for them, or not.

I disagree. I see two boys unable to make choices, as growing men, for themselves. One was taken out of UCLA and one is being taken out of school at 16 to go to another country where the culture is pretty different.

 

[Tommyboy]

Funny.

Looks like your average village you will find, with differing variations depending on region, in most of the world outside of the major cities. Nothing horrible, nothing special. .

Yeah, actually was better than I thought. A little bland but nothing bad.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Yeah, actually was better than I thought. A little bland but nothing bad.

Way better than UCLA