Tony Jones on the NBA: LaVar Ball is a good father, but he has to stop criticizing the Lakers

ESPN sent a reporter to Lithuania this week on an assignment many thought foolhardy at worst and eccentric at best.

The topic? The professional debuts of LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball.

And oh yes, there would be a lot of LaVar Ball thrown in as well.

Many know the results by now. The younger and less celebrated Ball brothers made their debut, but the father stole the show. He called out the Los Angeles Lakers, where his son Lonzo is a celebrated rookie point guard. He accused Los Angeles coach Luke Walton of losing the locker room and insinuated the Lakers aren’t handling his son properly.

In other words, LaVar Ball was being Lavar Ball.

We know what that entails. Ball is outrageous both in his comments and actions. He is a show-stealer, a braggart, a high school parent run amok. And it’s taken less than three months for many in the NBA to tire of his antics.

Me? I’m torn on basketball’s most famous father.

This is the conundrum of LaVar Ball. The man clearly does good for his sons. Fathers often take a beating in society for not being present for their children, especially African-American fathers, and Ball is as hands-on as you can get. He’s been there for his three boys each step of the way. He’s guided them. He’s molded them. And the end result is one son becoming a lottery pick, getting drafted by his hometown team and flashing the skill set that’s drawn comparisons to hall of famer Jason Kidd. And there’s a good chance Lonzo won’t end up as the only NBA player among his siblings. LaMelo is 16, a 6-foot-4 point guard and has at the very least a fighting shot to make the NBA.

LaVar Ball clearly can take credit for that. So what if he’s loud and boisterous? So what if he’s ruffled a few feathers along the way? He’s a man who knows the value of marketability. And like it or not, he’s created a ton of that for himself and his children.

That being said, he went too far with his comments about Walton. He put the Lakers in a bad spot and put Walton in a worse spot. He put Lonzo Ball in an impossible position.

First, he’s inaccurate. Walton hasn’t lost the locker room or the faith of the front office. If anything, Walton is to be commended for keeping a ship afloat in a locker room that would be difficult for any coach in the league to manage. The Lakers are filled with players on short-term contracts, guys who know they won’t be long for Los Angeles and are playing for their next deals.

Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, Brook Lopez, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are all free agents in some fashion at the end of the season. That’s half the rotation. Ball and Kyle Kuzma are rookies. Brandon Ingram and Larry Nance Jr. are in their sophomore seasons.

You aren’t going to win much with that kind of uncertainty, youth and inexperience on a roster. And LaVar Ball isn’t helping anyone by opening his mouth and accusing a coach of losing his team.

This isn’t new for Ball. He clashed with his sons’ high school coach. The problem is the NBA is another level, another entity all together. For once, Ball bit off more than he could chew. He’s not going to win that battle.

A day will come when the Ball brothers, for the sake of their careers, are going to have to tell their dad to chill or break away from his grip. Watching Lonzo Ball in a subsequent interview attempt to give a diplomatic answer was sad. He was in such a tough spot. He either was going to throw his father or his coach under the bus. I sympathized. At the end of the day, Lonzo Ball is still a teenager. He shouldn’t have been in that position. And for that, LaVar Ball needs to gain a bit of self-awareness.

LaVar Ball is approaching a thin line. He’s been a great parent in getting his sons to a point where they all can have a successful career. Because of his ability to market himself and his sons, money shouldn’t be an issue for the Ball family, even if basketball doesn’t work out. At this point, LaVar Ball has gotten his family to the level of the Kardashians. They are famous for being famous.

But if his sons are to have those successful careers, LaVar Ball has to ease up on the throttle. He has to stop publicly calling out the coach. He has to let the Lakers be the Lakers. Most importantly, it’s time to let Lonzo have the room to grow. He has a chance to be a terrific point guard. By all accounts, he’s a quiet and humble kid and a good teammate.

LaVar Ball can take credit for a lot of that. Now it’s his time to ease up. Or he runs the risk of undoing all of that good.