A Sneaker Company Apparently Has Offered LaMelo Ball $100M And A Private Jet To Sign With Them
I'm not going to sit here and tell you I know how credible this "reporting" is. I'm also not going to sit here and tell you I really give a shit. Corey Williams has a blue checkmark, he covers the NBL, and I am comfortable thinking he has some connections on this matter. Certainly more connections than you or me, so I'm willing to play along. 100 MILLION? Let's put that in perspective quickly. LeBron James got $90M as a rookie, Zion just got $75M from Jordan Brand, Durant got $60M, and here comes LaMelo Ball with an offer that is more than all of those guys including a private jet? Between that and the fact that he's pretty much locked up being a top three pick, I'd say his time in New Zealand has worked out pretty well.
The question now becomes, who is it. Could it be Puma, a brand looking to break into the NBA who has been busy dropping a ton of bags on young players over the last few years? Did Jordan put his nuts on the table knowing he can market the shit out of LaMelo? Or, is it possible that the source in the states that gave this leak is in fact LaVar Ball and the sneaker brand is BBB. You have to admit, this sounds like a LaVar move. Be this mystery team and throw out an insane rookie shoe deal offer to try and bring up the price. The skeptic in me says this is the leader in the clubhouse but who knows.
If it's any of these actually real shoe companies, LaMelo should sign as fast as possible obviously. If it's really only BBB, that money is monopoly money and the private jet is just the styrofoam airplane you used to get when you were a good boy at the dentist as a kid.
Hate the LaMelo if you want because of his family, but he's looked pretty damn good in the NBL so far and has turned himself into a legit prospect who may or may not just agreed to the largest shoe deal ever for a rookie while playing like 10 seconds of high school basketball and 0 seconds of college basketball. Pretty nuts.