Top draft prospect Ball on dad: ‘I’m my own man’

Point guard LaMelo Ball — a likely topfive pick in November’s NBA draft — disagrees with his father, LaVar, about his potential fit with the Warriors.

During an appearance on the “Say Less with Kaz” podcast in June, LaVar said, “That’s the part I don’t like about Golden State. They got Klay and the other guys, and now you want to put Melo in that mix to say you got to follow these guys. Melo ain’t no follower. He don’t need to do what they do, let them do they thing.”

LaMelo later quotetweeted a story about his dad’s comments with two words: “yo chill.” The tweet has since been deleted, but LaMelo reiterated during a draftcombine video call Monday that he doesn’t share his dad’s opinion about the Warriors.

“I’m my own man, and he’s his own man,” LaMelo said. “He has his opinions, and I have mine. I feel like I can play on any team, do good anywhere I go. Anything that happens, I’m positive.”

Asked about his potential fit alongside Stephen Curry, LaMelo said, “Anywhere is a great fit. It’s the NBA. You put me with good players, I feel like it’ll only make me better.”

The Warriors could be positioned to draft Ball at No. 2, but league sources have indicated to The Chronicle that it’s unlikely Ball lands in San Francisco. Ball’s biggest assets are his court vision and playmaking ability, and he’d have a tough time maximizing those skills alongside Curry.

There is also the fact that Ball brings his share of distractions, thanks mainly to his loquacious dad.

LaVar Ball has stated repeatedly that his oldest son, Lonzo, is better than Curry. In 2018, after LaVar said then-Lakers head coach Luke Walton had lost the team, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr — one of Walton’s closest friends — called LaVar the “Kardashian of the NBA” and pleaded for media to stop covering him. Less than a month later, LaVar shot back, questioning Kerr’s coaching ability and calling him the “Milli Vanilli of coaching.”