You think big baller will make it into any parenting magazines?

For the WCHL listening audience who are not sports fanatics, congratulations on your fine mental health. But since many of you may be parents, you might be interested in what Lavar Ball has been doing with his family these days.

If you haven’t heard of Lavar “Papa” Ball, he is the one who basically talked his son Lonzo into becoming the first draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers; that wasn’t a terrible move for the player or the team. Lonzo was an outstanding point guard in one season at UCLA and could be a great pro. Time will tell.

But Papa Ball has been busy with his other sons, pushing 16 year-old LaMelo to play professionally and blowing off the shoplifting his middle son LiAngelo did with two freshmen teammates at UCLA while in China, which creating an international incident. No big deal, except that Americans stealing in Asia could have meant jail time if President Trump wasn’t over there at the same time and basically got them out.

When UCLA properly suspended LiAngelo and his two teammates, Papa Ball said he would take it from there. Where he took it turns out to be Lithuania, where LiAngelo and his kid brother LaMelo signed contracts through the end of this pro season.

So let’s go over this, in case you want to brush up on your parenting tips. Old Man Ball pulled his 18 year-old out of college and his 16 year-old out of high school and signed them to pro contracts in a place with a relatively small population, very few of whom speak English. Are his kids even good enough to play ball in Lithuania, which has a rabid – albeit small – fan base and has produced a number of NBA players?

Lithuanian pros are mostly big, rough guys who could seriously injure these two skinny kids if they ever get in the game. Sure, Papa Ball will get a chance to expose his Big Baller Brand basketball shoes to a foreign country, but how many Lithuanians are going to drop their litas on an expensive pair of kicks when Nike and Adidas have been over there for years?

While this experiment is taking place across the pond, the winners are Lakers’ head coach Luke Walton and Lonzo Ball, who for at least the next few months won’t have Papa Ball sitting behind the bench yelling at them both.

Great story, huh? I hear Papa is also starting Big Baller Day Care. Anyone here interested?

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