With Tuesday night's NBA Draft Lottery 2017 revealing the team selection order for the top 14 picks, it seems all but a lock that the Los Angeles Lakers will draft UCLA Bruins star Lonzo Ball. The Lakers secured the No. 2 pick after last night's lottery, with the Boston Celtics receiving the No. 1 pick overall.
While the actual NBA Draft is still over a month away, Lonzo's father LaVar Ball is still making sure he gets heard on all topics relating to his son. That includes the new price of a shoe brand deal, as well as what teams his son will be working out for.
Only one team for Lonzo?
When asked about which teams Lonzo Ball will audition for, his father was quite steadfast, saying to Lakers Nation, “Just the Lakers. There’s nobody else that we need to work out for.” He also was quite confident to go on record as saying the Lakers' recent playoff drought will now end once his son is a part of the Los Angeles roster.
With the Boston Celtics holding the No. 1 pick, speculation is that they are going to take the best overall player out of the college prospects. That is Washington's Markelle Fultz, who can become an understudy to point guard Isaiah Thomas on an already talented Celtics team that has made it deep into this year's playoffs. That means the next teams in the Draft Lottery order will be choosing between stars such as Ball, Kansas' Josh Jackson, and Duke's Jayson Tatum.
The Lakers are in desperate need of another major star, especially with the departure of the longtime star and multiple champions, Kobe Bryant. A player of Lonzo Ball's nature doesn't come along too often, so it seems luck may have worked out for Magic Johnson's team.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like Lonzo's dad LaVar is going away anytime soon.
With his son playing close to home, the always vocal proud parent will be heard quite often over the course of the NBA season.
New shoe deal price
The absurdity of LaVar Ball's master plan to take over the professional basketball world continues regarding his attempts to flip the script on the shoe game. After Under Armour, Nike, and Adidas all turned him down for his asking price of $1 billion, LaVar has now upped the price.
He's now been quoted as saying the price is $3 billion for his son to sign a deal with a major sneaker company.
What makes this new asking price so far fetched is the fact it is more money than "His Airness" Michael Jordan racked up in 31 years. Jordan was the first basketball player to become a major brand, with LeBron James following in his footsteps.
Lonzo Ball may become a major star in the league, but until he does, it seems like it won't be plausible for any shoe company to give up that sort of money for a contract.