The Sixers must beware of Lonzo Ball because of his father, LaVar

Would the colorful antics of the father stop me from adding the super-talented son to my basketball team?

It wouldn't bother me if I needed a potential all-star-level point guard and UCLA freshman Lonzo Ball was still on the board when I got on the clock.

Still, if a team is going to use a top-five pick in this summer's NBA draft to select Ball, it better be fully prepared to deal with his dad, LaVar Ball, who comes as part of the package.

Flyers fans surely remember the off-ice distractions Bonnie and Carl Lindros generated during the tenure in Philadelphia of their Hockey Hall of Fame son, Eric.

To this day, there are those who will argue that Eric never maximized his enormous potential because, professionally, he could never fully sever the umbilical cord from Bonnie and Carl.

Two decades later, if the Sixers were to draft Lonzo Ball, how would Philadelphia deal with a character like LaVar Ball, who is best described as the Lindros parents to a factor of 13?

If Sixers president/general manager Bryan Colangelo has had difficulty dealing with the public relations aspect of talking about injuries, how would he handle an attention-seeking parent who is liable to say anything at any time to promote himself or his son?

Perhaps Colangelo could take some advice from former Flyers general manager Bobby Clarke who — after the Lindros family demanded a trade — said, "What are we doing, selling wheat?"

It's not just the ridiculously silly stuff from LaVar Ball, who played at Washington State and Cal State Los Angeles but never professionally. It is things such as his saying that in his heyday he would "kill" Michael Jordan in a one-on-one game or even recently knocking 12-year-old LeBron James Jr., by saying the kid will never become a great basketball player because his father – LeBron James – is the best player on the planet.

"The monsters in the NBA, their dads wasn't that good," said the older Ball, who played briefly with the London Monarchs of the old World League of American Football.

LaVar Ball, however, has made no secret of his intention to make a business of his three basketball prodigy sons - Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo.

It's one thing when a parent hypes his kids as the best thing to happen to basketball since the dunk, but something else when he talks about a three-son package deal for a "$1 billion" sneaker contract.

That should raise a red flag with any team considering drafting Lonzo Ball because everyone knows that the NBA is primarily a multi-billion-dollar industry and dealing with hands-on parents with dollar signs dancing in their heads usually complicates things.

LaVar Ball has been so reckless in his pursuit of promoting his sons, and himself, that he briefly endangered Lonzo's eligibility to participate in the NCAA tournament. Before Lonzo started at UCLA, LaVar created an apparel company called Big Baller Brand.

The company website featured images of Lonzo, which could be viewed as a violation of the NCAA policy against student-athletes promoting a commercial product or service.

Southern California, the arch-rival of UCLA, reported the website to the NCAA, which investigated and concluded the "appropriate measures" had been taken.

Big Baller took down the images of Lonzo when contacted by the NCAA.

Whether you believe the NCAA commercial product policy is way beyond hypocrisy isn't the point.

It is a rule and LaVar Ball admitted he had tried to get around it. And even though he took down the images of Lonzo, he balked at UCLA's request to also have his name removed from the About Us section of the company.

"Violation or not," LaVar Ball told Time.com. "If it's really that serious, take my boy, I'll come get him right now. See if you can win the NCAA championship on your own."

A quote like that must set off alarm bells for NBA teams because depending on how much influence LaVar has with Lonzo, it is a sign that individual goals will take precedence over organizational goals.

From all indications, Lonzo Ball is not like his father.

The coaching staff at UCLA and his teammates describe him as a complete team player who is focused only on helping the Bruins succeed.

"My dad's a funny guy," Lonzo Ball recently said to Bleacher Report. "People were coming up to me saying, "Are you embarrassed?' …  No, I'm not embarrassed. I know he's going to act. I just go out there and play. Let him be him."

When a player is as good as Lonzo Ball, you don't hold the sins of the father against him. Still, you better prepare yourself to be ready to deal with them.