****The Everything LaVar Ball Thread****

[EddieDoyers]

Lavar is free to price his product however he wants, but he's really only attracting a small niche while a huge majority doesn't want those kicks.


Anyway, props to him trying to be a high priced FUBU. Good luck to Lavar though

 

[obeahmyal7]

 
but what is the alternative?

if its harmful when whites prop up blacks, harmful when blacks prop themselves up, then what is the alternative?

if the aim is to rail against capitialism itself i support it

but when it comes down to living within the system of capitaliism whats worse? putting money in the hands of a white conglomerate or a black start up?

criticizing capitalism itself is one thing, but do it when a black man is benefitting also is harmful imo

i mean where is the sneaker i can buy that we all get paid off of?

on some level everyone is only out for themselves, but as a collective the more spaces we occupy over the long run we will benefit even if not individually

I appreciate this thoughtful response.

But I think it's important to add a class analysis (to say nothing of a gender analysis that engages with how black elites--men and women--sometimes enact patriarchical and matriarchical forms of exploitation upon black working class folks).

The idea of blacks propping "themselves up" is an interesting one, but mostly for what it ignores. We might ask, who actually is financing the initial outlay?  I suspect that it's likely to be white financiers, thereby contradicting the black vs. white, start-up vs. conglomerate binaries you've set up. Second, what about the labor involved in producing these shoes? Where are they manufactured and under what conditions? Given the center of gravity vis-a-vis sneaker production, those making the shoes are probably neither black nor white. What appears as a story of black's pulling themselves up by their bootstraps is more complicated. 

Another thing. Lavar is selling these shoes for $500. Much like Ja Rule, he knows there is a market out there for these kicks and that market is largely occupied by 1 percenters (those who have inherited wealth, entertainers, white, black, queer, straight, American, international). In pricing these sneakers, Lavar has, in effect, done two things: 1). selected the route of personal aggrandizement by selling kicks to the elite, and 2). used a classic gendered and black capitalist argument to appear as the underdog, which is not all that different (minus the white supremacy) from Trumpian strategy: combine populist language with cultural arguments to enrich yourself. 

 

[iamdef]

Quote:

Lavar is free to price his product however he wants, but he's really only attracting a small niche while a huge majority doesn't want those kicks.


Anyway, props to him trying to be a high priced FUBU. Good luck to Lavar though

Pretty much how I look at it

Seen a small brand on IG with some nice clothes and I'm about the supporting of black businesses and they have a flannel shirt with their logo on it for $150 and they turned me away right there. If I had the money, yea I'd cop without worrying about it. But where I'm sittin' right now, $150 for a shirt is laughable.

 

[drewbrzy]

at consigning this buffoonery out of a sense of racial or "little guy" solidarity. Y'all think LaVar gives a **** about anyone but himself and his immediate family? Fam is a new-age capitalist hustler trying to exploit sentiments of little guy empowerment and implied racial solidarity to sell a preposterously priced and completely unproven product to make money for himself and his family. And dudes in here eating this up as some type of "revolution." Come on, fam...

too much realness.

 

[hand2handking]

as far as his financing and labor, are these criticisms leveled at the "status quo" of conglomerates and startups in equal levels of derision?

if he did have white financiers, and the whole big baller brand was to paid out in dividends to these white financiers, then its black owned in name only and therefore goes back to what the other guy was saying about black people being used as a front for white coffers.

if not, then i dont see an issue with his financing.  its only unfortunate more blacks arent in positions to be these financiers

the labor situations, well id think a black owned business would be far more hard pressed to find a palatable manufacturing situation to make all people happy

and again, is there consternation for the conglomerate production methods?

i can see how this is problematic for people but im wary of making a dog into a demon so to speak, or a mountain of a molehill

 

[tay1]

Nobody sees this as a revolution. The big companies will always exist. People want this to win because if successfull, this can show players that they can create their own brand and be successful on their own. I agree that Lavar is annoying, but I can look past it because at the end of the day, he aint hurting nobody. People mention how far can his trolling last and all that. It doesn't have to last long. He just has to keep it going, then it is in Lonzo's hand. At the end of the day, he has to prove himself and show that he will last in this league. If he averages 15 and 6 in his rookie year, that's good enough in my eyes. The pricing is obviously ridiculous but with it being that way, he has less to sell to make more. If Lonzo does better than expected, and these sell like 10000, they win

 

[stillin729]

the pricing is because he has no distribution channel and is essentially making ID sneakers on each order placed

even at $220 you need to get into Footlocker and Finishline then compete with Lebrons ($175) Kyries ($120) PGs ($110) KDs ($150) Jordans ($185) Kobes ($160) Dames ($115) Hardens ($140)

his model of basically winging it is not a sustainable business model unless he finds partners to differentiate the BBB's from their competitors which are readily available and go on sale regularly

 

[bigj505]

Nobody sees this as a revolution. The big companies will always exist. People want this to win because if successfull, this can show players that they can create their own brand and be successful on their own. I agree that Lavar is annoying, but I can look past it because at the end of the day, he aint hurting nobody. People mention how far can his trolling last and all that. It doesn't have to last long. He just has to keep it going, then it is in Lonzo's hand. At the end of the day, he has to prove himself and show that he will last in this league. If he averages 15 and 6 in his rookie year, that's good enough in my eyes. The pricing is obviously ridiculous but with it being that way, he has less to sell to make more. If Lonzo does better than expected, and these sell like 10000, they win

Like it didn't hurt that coach? Or how he blamed the "white boys" for the reason why UCLA lost. He's shown he's willing to step on others to make himself look good.

While entertaining, he is stepping on people along he way.

 

[calibeebee]

the pricing is because he has no distribution channel and is essentially making ID sneakers on each order placed

even at $220 you need to get into Footlocker and Finishline then compete with Lebrons ($175) Kyries ($120) PGs ($110) KDs ($150) Jordans ($185) Kobes ($160) Dames ($115) Hardens ($140)

his model of basically winging it is not a sustainable business model unless he finds partners to differentiate the BBB's from their competitors which are readily available and go on sale regularly

Lavar trying to figure out what he would need to price the shoes at, in order to make any profit
View media item 2430444

Lavar at the board meeting.........

Execs: so have you come to a decision on what the price point should be after carefully considering distribution channel costs in a sustainable business model?

Lavar: ..................$495
View media item 2430449

 

[Rootin4EverybodyBlack]

Like it didn't hurt that coach? Or how he blamed the "white boys" for the reason why UCLA lost. He's shown he's willing to step on others to make himself look good.

While entertaining, he is stepping on people along he way.

So does he blame half of his son too, or how does that work??

[emoji]129300[/emoji][emoji]129300[/emoji][emoji]129300[/emoji]

 

[RustyShackleford]

Making it seem like dudes supporting Lavar is giving him a blanket cosign, or making it seem like they support him blindly because he is bringing about some revolution is a reach

And to make him seem like LaVar Ball is the embodiment of one of the worst aspects of capitalism in regards to how it effects the black community is a bigger reach.

Indulging some like Umar Johnson with his school is far more dangerous than indulging LaVar Ball and some expensive sneakers

 

[bigj505]

Making it seem like dudes supporting Lavar is giving him a blanket cosign, or making it seem like they support him blindly because he is bringing about some revolution is a reach

And to make him seem like LaVar Ball is the embodiment of one of the worst aspects of capitalism in regards to how it effects the black community is a bigger reach.

Indulging some like Umar Johnson with his school is far more dangerous than indulging LaVar Ball and some expensive sneakers

But the truth is, some people are blindly supporting him. Not everyone but some are.

 

[RustyShackleford]

Making it seem like dudes supporting Lavar is giving him a blanket cosign, or making it seem like they support him blindly because he is bringing about some revolution is a reach

And to make him seem like LaVar Ball is the embodiment of one of the worst aspects of capitalism in regards to how it effects the black community is a bigger reach.

Indulging some like Umar Johnson with his school is far more dangerous than indulging LaVar Ball and some expensive sneakers

But the truth is, some people are blindly supporting him. Not everyone but some are.

But the truth also is, some people are blindly shading him. Not everyone but some are.

 

[sundoobie]

Self promotion with little to go on. Lonzo's UCLA career was lackluster (look at his stats 14,. 7, 6... highest scored game was 24), highlight reel is passive at best, tournament game vs Kentucky in a prime time National Audience saw him struggle against De'Aaron Fox, and I remember the major news about the Ball family out here in So Cal was about LaMelo when he scored 92 in a high school game.

I can understand if Lonzo was Lebron going into the NBA with a multitude of talent far exceeding the average, but we're talking about Lonzo and a possible draft bust promoting a $500 shoe. Hilarious! I hope Lavar keeps up the trolling because this is pure entertainment.

 

[bigj505]

Making it seem like dudes supporting Lavar is giving him a blanket cosign, or making it seem like they support him blindly because he is bringing about some revolution is a reach

And to make him seem like LaVar Ball is the embodiment of one of the worst aspects of capitalism in regards to how it effects the black community is a bigger reach.

Indulging some like Umar Johnson with his school is far more dangerous than indulging LaVar Ball and some expensive sneakers

But the truth is, some people are blindly supporting him. Not everyone but some are.

But the truth also is, some people are blindly shading him. Not everyone but some are.

And I agree with this too.

 

[bigj505]

Self promotion with little to go on. Lonzo's UCLA career was lackluster (look at his stats 14,. 7, 6... highest scored game was 24), highlight reel is passive at best, tournament game vs Kentucky in a prime time National Audience saw him struggle against De'Aaron Fox, and I remember the major news about the Ball family out here in So Cal was about LaMelo when he scored 92 in a high school game.

I can understand if Lonzo was Lebron going into the NBA with a multitude of talent far exceeding the average, but we're talking about Lonzo and a possible draft bust promoting a $500 shoe. Hilarious! I hope Lavar keeps up the trolling because this is pure entertainment.

To be fair, he was hurt that game.
The stats were solid considering it's a shorter game. Some of the best passers in the NBA didn't average a lot of assists in college

 

[God]

sundoobie

The way you're trolling with that post?

 

[RustyShackleford]

Self promotion with little to go on. Lonzo's UCLA career was lackluster (look at his stats 14,. 7, 6... highest scored game was 24), highlight reel is passive at best, tournament game vs Kentucky in a prime time National Audience saw him struggle against De'Aaron Fox, and I remember the major news about the Ball family out here in So Cal was about LaMelo when he scored 92 in a high school game.

I can understand if Lonzo was Lebron going into the NBA with a multitude of talent far exceeding the average, but we're talking about Lonzo and a possible draft bust promoting a $500 shoe. Hilarious! I hope Lavar keeps up the trolling because this is pure entertainment.

Lonzo was the #1 prospect in his class, player of the year, and lead Chino Hills to the state Championship and #1 Ranking in the Nation.

He was Pac-12 Freshman of the year, lead the nation is assist, and is a Naismith Award Finalist

Dude was hurt against Kentucky, and his mom was in the hospital.

Sure he could be a bust, anyone can, but dude has earned his hype.

 

[wavycrocket]

Self promotion with little to go on. Lonzo's UCLA career was lackluster (look at his stats 14,. 7, 6... highest scored game was 24), highlight reel is passive at best, tournament game vs Kentucky in a prime time National Audience saw him struggle against De'Aaron Fox, and I remember the major news about the Ball family out here in So Cal was about LaMelo when he scored 92 in a high school game.

I can understand if Lonzo was Lebron going into the NBA with a multitude of talent far exceeding the average, but we're talking about Lonzo and a possible draft bust promoting a $500 shoe. Hilarious! I hope Lavar keeps up the trolling because this is pure entertainment.

I can tell you don't watch college basketball (or any basketball really) by calling Lonzo's UCLA career "lackluster"

Y'all must think every NBA prospect has to average 30ppg in college. That's now how it works man...

Go look up the college numbers for top flight guards that play in major conferences....and led their teams to a lot of wins.

Lonzo is right in line....if not better. He was great in college this year.

 

[hand2handking]

thats the downside, ppl will denigrate the sons to denigrate the father 

 

[God]

Self promotion with little to go on. Lonzo's UCLA career was lackluster (look at his stats 14,. 7, 6... highest scored game was 24), highlight reel is passive at best, tournament game vs Kentucky in a prime time National Audience saw him struggle against De'Aaron Fox, and I remember the major news about the Ball family out here in So Cal was about LaMelo when he scored 92 in a high school game.

I can understand if Lonzo was Lebron going into the NBA with a multitude of talent far exceeding the average, but we're talking about Lonzo and a possible draft bust promoting a $500 shoe. Hilarious! I hope Lavar keeps up the trolling because this is pure entertainment.

I can tell you don't watch college basketball (or any basketball really) by calling Lonzo's UCLA career "lackluster"

Y'all must think every NBA prospect has to average 30ppg in college. That's now how it works man...

Go look up the college numbers for top flight guards that play in major conferences....and led their teams to a lot of wins.

Lonzo is right in line....if not better. He was great in college this year.

Not to mention, took virtually the same team from the last couple years deep in the tourney. UCLA was becoming a joke. Turned the image of the program around in one season and lost 5 total games.

 

[RustyShackleford]

I'm low key coming around a lil on LiAngelo.

Dude still needs a lot of work, but fambs jumper might keep his NBA dream alive for a lil bit.

He needs to get that one-and-done stuff out his head doe

 

[cosmiccoffee9]

Nobody sees this as a revolution. The big companies will always exist. People want this to win because if successful, this can show players  talented individuals of all stripes that they can create their own brand and be successful on their own. 

there's more media, more advertisement, more business done through entertainment than ever before in the modern marketplace. it's time to reassess the value of content.

 

[God]

I'm low key coming around a lil on LiAngelo.

Dude still needs a lot of work, but fambs jumper might keep his NBA dream alive for a lil bit.

He needs to get that one-and-done stuff out his head doe

All of this.

Been watching all the brothers for a minute... since lonzo was a sophomore. LiAngelo, imo, does have upside. He just has to work at it a little more than both his brothers and dude can and will shoot from anywhere. He has a solid work ethic and before he got injured last season I saw him at the gym during the summer and I was shocked at how much he had grown and how in shape he was at that time. He'll get back to that. He's not the ball handler his brother's are, but he doesn't need to be.

 

[seandon23]

All of this.

Been watching all the brothers for a minute... since lonzo was a sophomore. LiAngelo, imo, does have upside. He just has to work at it a little more than both his brothers and dude can and will shoot from anywhere. He has a solid work ethic and before he got injured last season I saw him at the gym during the summer and I was shocked at how much he had grown and how in shape he was at that time. He'll get back to that. He's not the ball handler his brother's are, but he doesn't need to be.

if wants to up his ball handling he should hit up EWD