OT: Big Baller Brand to sponsor Junior Professional Basketball League
December 20th, 2017 at 7:24 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 7:30 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 8:38 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 8:42 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 10:01 PM ^
December 21st, 2017 at 2:12 AM ^
and there isn't a ton of shoe companys banging down the door of the NBA G league to sign players.
Ball has had time to think about what a dumb decision it was to pull his kid out of UCLA and high school to have them sign with some backwater team. He obviously has money to do this and it makes sense for him, his kids and his company.
Let's say the next Lebron is coming out of high school. He played for a Nike AAU squad and instead whatever college, he choose to play in this Ball league. Nike says no you can't play there, so player says ok Nike, I'll just sign with Adidas, Under Armour, Puma, Reebok, Sprints... At this point probably more than ever kids have a ton of options.
December 21st, 2017 at 12:25 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 7:26 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 7:29 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 7:30 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 7:31 PM ^
There's one very big reason: LaVar Ball is running it.
This thing never sees Opening Night.
December 20th, 2017 at 9:54 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 10:42 PM ^
from and I just don't see it. I can see a lot of expenses. I don't see why anyone would want to sink a lot of money into it.
I watch a lot of basketball. I watch the NBA to see the best players, my home team, and players that I rooted for when they were in college. If I watch a G League game, it would only be to see a former Michigan player like Trey. I watch college basketball because I root for a team and I know some others. I watch some Big Ten games to see our rivals. If I was to watch a high school game on TV, it would only be to see one of our incoming players.
I don't see the appeal in watching Ball's proposed league. No rooting interests and not a compelling level of play. How can it even match the appeal of AAU summer leagues?
New leagues are hard to keep solvent. He wants to rely primarily on HS players. They'll be asked to give up HS and college eligibility and I would think good prospects would want some guarantee that it will work out. Otherwise they may have earned a few thousand and forfeited good opportunities.
December 21st, 2017 at 6:12 AM ^
The revenues will come his world wide takeover of the shoe industry with those $500 Big Baller brand sneaks. LeBatard ordered a pair a year ago, paid the $500 a year ago and just his shoes last week. He opened them on the air and it wasn't even the pair he ordered - haha!
He did like the style he received better than the style he ordered...but still.
December 21st, 2017 at 2:18 AM ^
It really depends on a lot of things. It depends on who is broadcasting the games, if it's Lavar with a goPRO putting the games on Youtube, it probably won't work. It depends on who signs and plays in the league. If he pulls some top high school prospects, some college players and enough street ballers to form some teams then it might be fun. People loved the And-1 team and the Harlem Globetrotters but, you can only watch the same show so many times.
December 20th, 2017 at 7:30 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 8:06 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 8:40 PM ^
December 21st, 2017 at 9:15 AM ^
December 21st, 2017 at 3:16 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 8:20 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 7:31 PM ^
December 21st, 2017 at 11:02 AM ^
December 21st, 2017 at 11:32 AM ^
Ball is only 19 and has a lot of developing to do. If he has a work ethic like the stars of the league do, he could develop into a very good guard. His shot is awkward and he doesn't seem like a natural on the athletic side, but his court awareness and hustle is great for a kid his age. Too bad his dad is a douche.
December 21st, 2017 at 2:50 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 7:32 PM ^
You're talking about need numerous teams, can't have the same 2 teams play each other night in and out. Where is the money coming from? Is this going to be players who are rented for one year?
I just do not understand why a player can't go to the D league right out of high school, or better yet let the players who can get drafted go right out of high school.
December 21st, 2017 at 1:33 PM ^
"I just do not understand why a player can't go to the D league right out of high school"
They can.
December 20th, 2017 at 7:37 PM ^
Obligatory "Fuck Lavar Ball" comment from me
December 20th, 2017 at 7:38 PM ^
I personally cannot see this league being successful. The type of competition, housing, nutrition, and strength & conditioning a player will receive in college (even for a year) will not be available in a league like this.
If it were structured correctly and funded appropriately upfront, then I can see it at least being launched, but the ramp-up to do it in an organized way would take years, I would think. Even then, there's no real guarantee of support or survival unless you've got a stellar marketing plan that can assure eventual returns, and when I look at who is running it.....ehhh......hard pass.
December 20th, 2017 at 7:38 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 7:41 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 7:46 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 7:48 PM ^
If a league like this starts for college football and becomes extremely popular, that means...
NO MORE MICHIGAN FOOTBALL!
December 20th, 2017 at 8:55 PM ^
December 21st, 2017 at 11:11 AM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 7:48 PM ^
heard a discussion about this earlier on espn radio here in LA. sounds like it would be in almost direct competition with the G League which is already tied into the NBA and corporate sponsors like Gatorade. i think they said kids can already go straight to the G league from high school.
December 21st, 2017 at 5:49 AM ^
Max Kellerman also had a pretty good take with numerous reasons-- from funding, to the G-League already existing, to venue problems, to roster-size issues, to LaVar himself-- why this will not work.
December 20th, 2017 at 7:50 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 7:50 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 7:53 PM ^
I can't see minor league basketball being popular enough to support $10k/month salaries.
If the players aren't making big money, I doubt they'll choose to go to a minor league over going to college.
December 20th, 2017 at 7:53 PM ^
I wouldn't mind this succeeding so that kids who don't want to go to college have an option to play hoops in the US, but I'm skeptical that it will get the fan support necessary to survive.
December 20th, 2017 at 8:00 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 8:02 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 8:11 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 8:57 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 8:21 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 8:22 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 8:25 PM ^
December 20th, 2017 at 8:31 PM ^
No chance of it working, not even close. The biggest and most important reason it won't is because Lavar Ball is a bad leader. Successful leaders and businessmen don't act like he does from a business standpoint. He is so all over the board that he isn't stable enough to make one business work, let alone all of the things he is trying to at once. He is a nutcase who has a hard time stringing coherent sentences together. He isn't a genius. He is a clown. I feel sorry for his kids who have to listen to him all the time. It seems pretty clear that Lonzo isn't much like him and tries to keep his distance when he can.