As Lonzo Ball continues to make more decisions about his future, the more he separates himself from his family. The move could be coming intentionally or may simply be an unintended byproduct. However, the fact remains that he is doing his best to no longer mix family and business.
During the Lakers exit interview, Ball was asked if he needed to separate himself from his family in order to further his career.
“I wouldn’t say that. I was with them my whole life. I just think whatever decision is going to be made, there might be me saying one thing and someone else saying another thing but at the end of the day, if I think it’s best for me, just go with that. Nothing’s perfect, like I said. There’s going to be arguments. There’s going to be some standstills but close family always comes back together.”
Whether he realizes it or not, the decision-making by Lonzo’s father LaVar Ball and people he empowered and trusted – namely Alan Foster – nearly led to disastrous ends for Lonzo. Simplified, Foster was stealing money from Ball while trying to have him undergo a surgery that could have potentially voided his contract in the process.
Despite all the signs pointing to his family and his father being the source of much of the situation he finds himself in, Lonzo plans on staying connected to his family.
“My family’s always going to be close. Unfortunately, we had a bad seed. Like I said, I’m glad we found it sooner rather than later. He did a lot of stuff for us, good and bad, obviously. But we have to move on, move on the right direction. My family’s always going to be together.”
It’s admirable that Lonzo still intends on having a relationship with his family given all they have gone through. However, Lonzo should also be aware that his family got him in this terrible situation and to be wary of them moving forward. While they may claim to have his best intentions in mind – and they very well could – they don’t have the ability to put him in positions to succeed.
Fortunately, he’s surrounding himself with people that will have both the ability and willingness to help Lonzo succeed. Now, we should see his career really take off.
