New Orleans Pelicans: Lonzo Ball is the Next Jason Kidd
The Controversy
Kidd’s Demons
Both Kidd and Ball started their careers in a tabloid frenzy that would be the hallmark of their first years in the NBA.
Kidd’s personal problems while in the NBA are well documented. He was arrested for domestic violence after hitting his wife, got a DUI and it seemed like he couldn’t keep his name out of the headlines for all of the wrong reasons.
Kidd had to overcome a negative image that he had rightfully earned and found himself getting booed at opposing arenas, even as he was putting up huge numbers and being selected as a first team All-NBA point guard.
Kidd eventually got counseling for his myriad problems and was able to turn his life around and get a fresh start with the Nets. He is now a respected coach in the NBA and few remember the dubious beginning to his young life and career.
The Reality TV Family
Ball’s early career was also marked by controversy, though his was more of the reality tv/WWE variety and not nearly as bad as the demons that haunted Kidd. Ball’s controversy was a family matter, as his outspoken father constantly made headlines with bombastic statements and predictions.
Ball’s first two years with the Lakers were played in the shadow of his father, who made the rounds on sports talk shows, started his own shoe company, and inked the family to a reality tv deal for “Ball in the Family.”
The soft-spoken Lonzo seemed bewildered at times and it affected his play, but like Kidd, Ball was able to re-establish himself with a new team when he joined the New Orleans Pelicans.
It’s important to note that the controversy that plagued Ball was mostly not of his own doing. Ball has been a model citizen, hasn’t committed any crimes and has shown none of the fatal character flaws that Kidd displayed as a young man.
Things have also quieted considerably since he joined the New Orleans Pelicans and got out of the gaze of the Hollywood tabloids.
But it is fair to say that both spent a lot of time in the news for the wrong reasons and that both would go on to develop unique all-around skills as point guards in the NBA.