With the Lakers more or less on the clock with the No. 2 pick in June’s NBA draft — assuming the Celtics go with Markelle Fultz at No. 1, as widely expected — Los Angeles has a month to decide if it wants to select Lonzo Ball. That, of course, also means taking on the UCLA star’s domineering father, but Lakers President Magic Johnson said Wednesday that he has “no problem” with LaVar Ball, going so far as to praise the job he has done as a parent.
Johnson, however, went on to make a parental analogy that might not be reassuring to some Lakers supporters. On the other hand, Los Angeles is perhaps the one place in the country where sports fans would actually see a comparison to Kris Jenner as a compliment.
Jenner, of course, is the mother of the Kardashian clan, and in comments to ESPN Radio Los Angeles, Johnson said with a chuckle, “Look, the Kardashians, we didn’t say that the mom was bad, and she made them a lot of money, right?
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“She’s bragged on her daughters, and I think it’s the same here. He’s just saying, ‘Hey, my son is great,’ and there’s nothing bad with that.”
LaVar Ball has said much more than that, gaining national notoriety by claiming that Lonzo, who just completed a standout freshman season with the Bruins and is a favorite to be drafted second overall, is already better than Steph Curry. Among other outlandish remarks, Ball has also said that he himself would have “killed” Michael Jordan in one-on-one back in his “heyday,” that Lonzo and his two younger brothers would command a $1 billion collective shoe deal and that too many “white guys” on UCLA kept the squad from going further in the NCAA tournament.
More recently, after the Lakers snagged the No. 2 pick by way of the draft lottery earlier this month, Ball said that Lonzo would only work out for the Lakers, the Los Angeles-based family’s favorite team. “Oh, he’s going to be a Laker,” Ball told ESPN. “I’m going to keep talking about it until it happens.”
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On Wednesday, Johnson said that the Lakers were “scheduling a workout with Lonzo” and “looking forward” to that happening some time over the next two weeks. “Does he possess the talent, and the mind-set and the basketball skills that we’re looking for?” Johnson told the radio station. “Of course.”
When asked if the elder Ball might be a “distraction,” should the Lakers draft his son, Johnson replied, “I don’t look at any parent, when it comes to a professional league, that would be a problem. We’ve always had parents who loved their sons or daughters, who play in professional golf or basketball, or whatever, who get involved, who get excited, and also who think that their child is the best.
“Now, some will say it publicly, some will only think it, but I have no problem with LaVar.”
Johnson added that Ball deserved “a lot of credit for being in not just Lonzo’s life, but the other two sons, as well.” Of Ball’s incessant boasting, Magic noted that “it also seems like it hasn’t bothered Lonzo.”
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“This young man has been a champion, in high school, and then he’s gone on to have a stellar career at UCLA, and his father was talking at that time, but it didn’t bother him,” Johnson said. “So as long as it doesn’t bother him, it’s not going to bother the Laker organization, as long as Lonzo performs on the basketball court, right?”
Earlier in May, Lakers Coach Luke Walton affirmed that the organization would ask UCLA Coach Steve Alford about Ball’s level of “involvement” with the Bruins’ program. While acknowledging that possible concern, though, Walton said, “I think what you’re drafting is the son and not the father,” adding of Lonzo Ball, “I absolutely love his game, and the way he passes, the way he makes everyone on his team better.”
Johnson said Wednesday that the ex-Bruin will “probably” enter the NBA with “a target on his back,” echoing a prediction made recently by Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving. A former No. 1 overall pick himself, Johnson said, “Just like when I was drafted, they came at me, but I just went back at ’em, you know? And that’s what you do.”
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Elsewhere in the interview, Johnson offered the following tidbits:
- He’s happy that “Kobe [Bryant] wants to be a part of the Laker organization,” and Johnson has been “picking his brain” about NBA players.
- He wants D’Angelo Russell to “make better decisions and become a better leader.” (In related news, Russell liked a Twitter post Wednesday that claimed the Lakers would be “stupid” to draft Ball.)
- He is looking for Brandon Ingram to “get a little stronger,” so that 2016’s No. 2 overall pick can absorb contact while finishing at the basket.
- “Cleveland’s definitely going to beat Boston,” Johnson predicted, unless Irving and LeBron James suffer injuries, but the Cavs will lose to the Warriors in the Finals, because “Kevin Durant can make the difference.”
For some Lakers fans, the massive shadow that LaVar Ball has cast over his son should make the difference between drafting Lonzo and going in another, less problematic, direction. However, Johnson, true to his sunny disposition, is preferring to look at Ball in a positive light and dismiss suggestions that his mouthy presence might be an issue.
As for the Jenner comparison, perhaps Magic just went on the air with his mind on her brood of reality-TV superstars. Earlier Wednesday, the Lakers had announced the hiring of Gunnar Peterson — a noted personal trainer for several of the Kardashians — as their director of strength and endurance.
Hey, guess who else is shopping a proposed reality series about his family? Let’s just say that you’d have to presume Johnson, who epitomized “Showtime” in his playing days, would also have “no problem” with that.
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