Lonzo Ball

[Los216]

The thing is he knows his family gets what he's doing. They know the type of person he is already so he takes comfort in that-- everybody can rip him but it's not gonna change what his family thinks of him....He also knows he has at least 1 NBA caliber child who was already in the discussion as a potential lottery pick before he started popping off publicly as well... So he had a lottery ticket in his back pocket...This isn't Melo Trimble he's trying to promote really hard to get some teams to bite....

The amount of money he would have had to dish out for air play on the radio, a tv spot etc is all out the window now cause he's getting it promoted for free.... and not just little 30 seconds spots, but air time of 5 minutes or so just discussing it..

As a UCLA guy I was disappointed in his son's play in the tournament-- but he really didn't take a hit whatsoever publicly from the play and I'm sure they both took notice of that.... Once they lost to Kentucky his father got some attention and memes but that's all that came from it. Same thing will happen in the NBA -- the kid will show flashes, have some nice assist nights and show he can have an all around game, but he and his father knows his game doesn't translate into top dollar marketing and they're taking advantage of it now knowing that nothing is really going to come from it on the backlash front later on if he flames out as a player....

This is an interesting take on it. I was going to say they only need to sell 2,000 pairs to make $1M. I think they'll easily reach that. I remember watching people buy $500 Beats By Dre headphones like crack. If Lonzo plays really well in the NBA.......they'll be on the fast track. Plus I believe they will have other athletes endorse them and join. I wouldn't be surprised to see them partner with players in Football or Baseball.

 

[Cassity14]

This is an interesting take on it. I was going to say they only need to sell 2,000 pairs to make $1M. I think they'll easily reach that. I remember watching people buy $500 Beats By Dre headphones like crack. If Lonzo plays really well in the NBA.......they'll be on the fast track. Plus I believe they will have other athletes endorse them and join. I wouldn't be surprised to see them partner with players in Football or Baseball.

That's not how profit works.

I'm also willing to bet he doesn't have even half of that many pairs of shoes currently available to sell.

 

[Lee]

This is an interesting take on it. I was going to say they only need to sell 2,000 pairs to make $1M. I think they'll easily reach that. I remember watching people buy $500 Beats By Dre headphones like crack. If Lonzo plays really well in the NBA.......they'll be on the fast track. Plus I believe they will have other athletes endorse them and join. I wouldn't be surprised to see them partner with players in Football or Baseball.

No way other athletes will join unless desperate, ie no one with any actual worth.

And how much deos it cost him to make, probably so expensive because costs are so high because he doesnt have a propper manufacturing agreement.

million in sales probably makes him 100-200 net.

Guy is an asshat for sure.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

The thing is he knows his family gets what he's doing. They know the type of person he is already so he takes comfort in that-- everybody can rip him but it's not gonna change what his family thinks of him....He also knows he has at least 1 NBA caliber child who was already in the discussion as a potential lottery pick before he started popping off publicly as well... So he had a lottery ticket in his back pocket...This isn't Melo Trimble he's trying to promote really hard to get some teams to bite....

The amount of money he would have had to dish out for air play on the radio, a tv spot etc is all out the window now cause he's getting it promoted for free.... and not just little 30 seconds spots, but air time of 5 minutes or so just discussing it..

Here's how I see it:

If Lonzo had signed a contract with Nike, or Adidas, or whomever, it would be his name on that contract, and the money would all go to him except for an agent's fee. Same with the other kids. So while the size of a Nike, etc., contract might be very large, and set Lonzo up for life, it would be security for Lonzo. But not necessarily security/wealth for Lavar.

However, by LaVar creating his own company, claiming that he designed the shoe, and setting up a family brand, he's actually created an independent business that he controls, and he got his kid to sign him the rights to market his name. In other words, LaVar has set himself up to maintain control over his kids as a business, and not just as his son's agent.

Now, if LaVar had come out publicly and said that the company was going to belong to his sons, or even that he'd just take an agent's fee and no more, that would be different. But instead, he's set himself up in business, and used his son's talent as the capital for his own benefit.

It was in his son's best interest to grab a life-changing deal from a shoe company. But that wasn't in LaVar's best interest. To truly gravy-train off his son, he needed an independent company.

It's slimy as hell.

 

[natedagg]

Holy shit guys.

The shoes are ugly. The commercial/slam magazine piece was awful. This is just going to bust guys. There's just SO much that goes into a brand:

who wears it? And I mean social influencers.
the timing of the marketing: it's all carefully planned.
the inventory management: it needs to feel impossible to get.
price does matter: this is just way out there.
looks: awful.

The resources that Nike, UA, and Adidas put into player branding, along with the agents, social media specialists, marketers, design teams, its fucking huge business.

I am not a guru, but I will be astounded if this doesn't fail. I am not talking about his performance, I just mean this BBB merchandise effort.

This will fail, Lonzo Ball will distance his brand from his father, there will be some feel good story about his internal struggle to stay loyal to his father and forge his own path. It'll be a really good article, mercifully sparing us and him from the script reading. He'll play well, but i he actually demands to go to LA, he's really going to hamstring his marketability and growth for a number of reasons.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

No way other athletes will join unless desperate, ie no one with any actual worth.

Right. In what universe is LaVar Ball a more attractive business partner than an independent shoe company? Good God, the conflict of interest in terms of a desire to prioritize his own sons should lead anyone with half a brain to run screaming in the opposite direction.

 

[Kbiz]

The shoe is ugly af too. Looks like it offers little support. It looks like a high-end DC / Etnies skateboard shoe.

 

[Lee]

Maybe Lorenzo should see if he can partner with Kanye. Only other person in Hip Hop or Sports culture that comes off to as much of an asshat too me.

In the end I am glad Lorenzo is doing this, it is entertaining as hell even if it is extremely harmful to Lonzo's future.

 

[Adam]

Meanwhile underarmour breathe a sigh of relief that there is no a more pointless shoe than the curry3 on the market

 

[Kbiz]

One of the few times i've seen eye-to-eye with Mike Brown.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

This is an interesting take on it. I was going to say they only need to sell 2,000 pairs to make $1M.

When you sign a shoe deal with a company for a certain amount, the value of the deal is all money in your pocket. It's a net, not a gross. A $50 million dollar shoe deal means you get $50M dollars.

But if it is your company, you have to pay all the costs associated with manufacturing, marketing, and selling/delivering the shoe. In fact, it is entirely possible that you could have $1M in sales and actually have a negative net income from it. You can lose money if you decide to be a one-stop shop.

That's why the overwhelmingly best deal for a young athlete is to grab that shoe contract early, because it is guaranteed income. Even if you blow out your knee, whatever, you got yourself lifelong comfort from that shoe deal.

 

[Lee]

When you sign a shoe deal with a company for a certain amount, the value of the deal is all money in your pocket. It's a net, not a gross. A $50 million dollar shoe deal means you get $50M dollars.

But if it is your company, you have to pay all the costs associated with manufacturing, marketing, and selling/delivering the shoe. In fact, it is entirely possible that you could have $1M in sales and actually have a negative net income from it. You can lose money if you decide to be a one-stop shop.

That's why the overwhelmingly best deal for a young athlete is to grab that shoe contract early, because it is guaranteed income. Even if you blow out your knee, whatever, you got yourself lifelong comfort from that shoe deal.

It brings up a point why there is value in Nike, Adidas, Reebok, or even much smaller companies.

Sales happen not just because of the product, but distribution. And this brand has zero. Stores wont want to carry them, heck maybe even Amazon will not want to deal with it. Then there is the cost of manufacturing. The major shoe companies already have that in place, so further helping the shoe and your brand.

So many things wrong with what Lorenzo is doing, but not my problem.

 

[kookoo]

The thing is he knows his family gets what he's doing. They know the type of person he is already so he takes comfort in that-- everybody can rip him but it's not gonna change what his family thinks of him....He also knows he has at least 1 NBA caliber child who was already in the discussion as a potential lottery pick before he started popping off publicly as well... So he had a lottery ticket in his back pocket...This isn't Melo Trimble he's trying to promote really hard to get some teams to bite....

The amount of money he would have had to dish out for air play on the radio, a tv spot etc is all out the window now cause he's getting it promoted for free.... and not just little 30 seconds spots, but air time of 5 minutes or so just discussing it..

As a UCLA guy I was disappointed in his son's play in the tournament-- but he really didn't take a hit whatsoever publicly from the play and I'm sure they both took notice of that.... Once they lost to Kentucky his father got some attention and memes but that's all that came from it. Same thing will happen in the NBA -- the kid will show flashes, have some nice assist nights and show he can have an all around game, but he and his father knows his game doesn't translate into top dollar marketing and they're taking advantage of it now knowing that nothing is really going to come from it on the backlash front later on if he flames out as a player....

I get the core idea but we're at a point where there is such a thing as bad press. The stories about him talking shit to the high school coach and acting like he runs UCLA... You can tell they're true. And his son's stock is getting hurt by it. If Nike, Adidas and Under Armour unite in a decision to not sign Lonzo, it means you're doing something wrong. If he didn't fuck up the way he did, they would be fielding offers left and right. Starting your own company comes with a ton of risks, and he's making a lot of promises to athletes that he would never be able to keep. First off, their production is going to be insanely expensive to start off. Nike has factories of their own and their profit margins are ridiculously high because their costs are low and their quantities are through the roof. For a new company, those costs per shoe are exponential, so for what he's 'saving' in ad costs he's losing in production.

Final factor in this is fatigue. If you're not sick of seeing his ugly mug on TV saying dumb shit, you're going to get sick of him. That is a direct hit to Lonzo's brand, even though Lavar is speaking. If Lavar owns the brand, people will be less likely to buy it because his personality is unappealing to the masses and his son isn't polarizing enough to counteract the stupidity. In fact, I would say Lonzo has to be a top 10 player in the league to make it worth it for people to buy into the brand with Lavar there.

The only reason I would buy the shoe is ironically. And at $500, it's not worth it.

 

[Real Deal]

Did you just compare Dr Dre, a successful legend in the music industry who worked with legendary artists and was respected on all levels to Lonzo Ball, a guy that hasn't even hit a jumpshot in the NBA? Damn, you did.

This is an interesting take on it. I was going to say they only need to sell 2,000 pairs to make $1M. I think they'll easily reach that. I remember watching people buy $500 Beats By Dre headphones like crack. If Lonzo plays really well in the NBA.......they'll be on the fast track. Plus I believe they will have other athletes endorse them and join. I wouldn't be surprised to see them partner with players in Football or Baseball.

 

[kookoo]

Did you just compare Dr Dre, a successful legend in the music industry who worked with legendary artists and was respected on all levels to Lonzo Ball, a
guy that hasn't even hit a jumpshot in the NBA? Damn, you did.

With a broken ass looking jumper like that, he's going to get blocked so often by legitimate defenders.