Is LaVar Ball hurting Lonzo Ball's NBA draft stock?

The NBA playoffs finally reached the conference finals where the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers provided the matchup fans anticipated for an unprecedented third-consecutive year.

And yet, the talk of basketball has continued to center on a Southern California father and his aggressive and perhaps unprecedented promotion of his son.

Weeks before the NBA draft, LaVar Ball is basketball’s most divisive personality. Case in point: A veteran Nike executive recently called him the worst thing to happen to the sport in 100 years. At the same time, Ball might be a marketing genius.

Problem is, Ball also is the father of point guard Lonzo Ball, perhaps the best floor general to enter the draft in decades. Basketball experts praise the UCLA product’s unselfishness and ability to make others better. For most, he is considered a can’t-miss NBA prospect, but it’s become clear that teams with a top-five pick, a group that includes the Suns, will have to weigh the actions and potential distraction of Ball’s father.

“He’s created a conversation,” ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg said. “There’s no doubt about it. He’s definitely created a conversation.”

RELATED:NBA draft: Can Suns find point guard of future?

Over the past several months, while his son developed into a college All-American, LaVar Ball has commanded the media spotlight with outlandish statements that might have gone unnoticed 15 years ago, but not in today’s social-media landscape. As a result, it's turned some against his son.

In November, LaVar Ball guaranteed a UCLA national championship. In February, he said Lonzo was better than Golden State’s Stephen Curry, a two-time Most Valuable Player. In April, not long after UCLA lost in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, Ball reportedly said the Bruins lost because “realistically, you can’t win no championship with three white guys because the foot speed is too slow.” (Ball later said his comment was misunderstood.)

Then this week, of course, LaVar Ball caused a social-media stir by unveiling the ZO2 shoe line that he developed for Lonzo under the family’s Big Baller Brand. According to ESPN.com, apparel giants Nike, Adidas and Under Armour all backed off deals with Lonzo Ball because LaVar Ball insisted they license the Big Baller Brand. ESPN senior writer Darren Rovell called the pitch unprecedented.

At BigBallerBrand.com, ZO2’s main shoe starts at $495. An autographed pair in the "wet" color scheme runs $995. After many current and retired pro athletes – including Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal – criticized the high price, LaVar Ball tweeted: “Big Baller’s loose! If you can’t afford the ZO2’s, you’re NOT a BIG BALLER!”

Is this enough to give NBA general managers pause? Several basketball analysts say yes, but not enough to pass on Lonzo Ball in the draft. He’s just too talented.

“It is (enough to make teams pause), but only in a minor way,’’ said ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla, who will work next week’s NBA draft combine. “Th”e kid’s become such a good player that even though the father’s been a distraction, I don’t think a team will pass up on him because of the father. But he’s not helpful, let’s put it that way.”

BICKLEY:Suns fans should cheer, not fear, NBA draft lottery

Mike Montgomery spent most of his career at Stanford and California, but he also coached in the NBA for two seasons. During that time he said he never had problems with parents. If a player wasn’t happy, his agent usually went to the general manager. Rarely did anything filter down to the coach.

But Montgomery, a Pac-12 Networks analyst, admitted the Ball situation is a little different.

“Is it a red flag? Yes,” he said. “It’s nonsense. Is anybody going to listen? I don’t know. He’s promoting his son. He’s trying to make money on a shoe deal, an equipment deal. That’s all business outside the game. If he were on a team, I don’t think the players would pay any attention to that because it doesn’t appear to me that the kid pays any attention to it.”

That’s an important element. Despite LaVar Ball’s exaggerated promotion, Lonzo Ball has stayed free of the drama. UCLA coach Steve Alford – in Phoenix for this week’s Pac-12 spring meetings – told azcentral sports that he never had problems with the point guard. And when the conversation shifted to LaVar, the coach quickly brought it back to Lonzo.

“I only coached the son, and he was tremendous,” said Alford, in line to coach two more Ball brothers in Westwood. LiAngelo Ball already has signed and will join the Bruins next season. LaMelo, a high school sophomore, committed to UCLA at age 13.

“I mean, this was a guy that was one-and-done from the get-go, yet he went to class every day, did what he was supposed to do academically, did the community service work, was on time for everything, very respectful,” Alford continued. “Not one time was there an altercation or disrespect to me, an assistant coach or a teammate. He was as good to coach as anybody I’ve had.”

MORE:Magic Johnson to Luke Walton: Lakers are getting a top-3 pick

Barring trades, only five or six teams have a chance to draft Lonzo Ball. The family has made it clear it’d be nice if the point guard suited up for the hometown Lakers. With the league’s third-worst record, the Lakers enter the May 16 draft lottery with the third-best odds at landing the top overall pick. Their selection, however, is only top-three protected. If the Lakers land the fourth pick, for example, it would go to Philadelphia as part of a 2012 trade that sent Steve Nash to Los Angeles.

The Balls could try to control Lonzo’s draft options by refusing to work out for certain teams, but in the end, the point guard’s destination mostly is out of his control.  

“Just think of all the crazy things the old man said," ESPN's Greenberg said. "How many of them came to fruition? None of them. I think the kid just looks at it as, 'That’s my dad being my dad.' He doesn’t carry himself that way. And when I think you get to the NBA, they’re not going to put up with that."

Contact Doug Haller at 602-444-4949 or at doug.haller@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DougHaller.