The Ball Brothers Would Make the New Orleans Pelicans the Epicenter of the NBA
The Pelicans are the NBA’s smallest market, a basketball team in a football city. With the popularity of college football and the Saints, the Pelicans will likely always be a secondary team in the Big Easy.
Adding the intrigue of the Ball brothers to the popularity of Zion Williamson may not make the Pelicans the most popular team in New Orleans, but they would be the epicenter of pretty much every story in the NBA.
They’ll be exciting, fun and brash, darlings of the media and will get more nationally televised games than any team in the NBA, including the Lakers.
This attention might bring some amount of distraction, but Zion, Lonzo and LaMelo have been in the spotlight for most of their lives, so they can handle it.
Distractions aside, this type of attention is all good for New Orleans, as it makes them attractive to potential free agents who would be lining up to join a team full of young stars who are unselfish and genuinely like playing together.
Look at Golden State, who has their choice of veteran free agents each year because everyone wants to play with the Splash Brothers.
The Pelicans would be the most fun, entertaining team in the league and would have their choice of veteran free agents who would take less money for the shot to play with a contender with a generational talent and two of the best passers in the NBA.
Some would say that LaVar would be a distraction and the constant media attention would turn into a circus. Possibly, but LaMelo and Lonzo Ball have been dealing with their dad, seem to know how to tune him out and still love him despite his sometimes misguided opinions.
You don’t turn down the chance at a super team because of a player’s father, these aren’t children.
But the most compelling reason of all to unite the Ball brothers is because it makes smart financial sense.