LaVar Ball disses Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, says Sixers ‘at the bottom of the totem pole’

One of the best side effects of the Sixers moving up to No. 1 is not having to worry about dealing with the Ball family bonanza on a 24/7 basis. LaVar Ball would have probably taken over the afternoon drive slot at one of the sports radio stations, and we would all be wearing Big Baller Brand by 2025.

That doesn’t mean we can avoid the family altogether, and since Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid fired some shots at LaVar on draft night, he’s going to clap back when he gets the chance. During an interview on 97.5 The Fanatic on Thursday afternoon, Ball told Rob Ellis and Geoff Mosher that the Sixers’ young core should stop yapping and worry about themselves.

When you don’t win and don’t even make the playoffs, and don’t even stay on the court long enough, that’s the best thing you can do is Tweet, make some stuff. Ain’t nobody else doing that, because they’re working on their game in the gym. These guys ain’t played a game, always hurt, and at the bottom of the totem pole.

So guess what, get your asses off the goddamn Tweeter, and get in the gym.

Just want to throw in a fact check on this “bottom of the totem pole” thing.

Anyway, later in the interview Ball was also asked about the threat Simmons and Markelle Fultz represent to his son for Rookie of the Year honors, and as peers hoping to turn around programs of their own. He kept going on his rant, criticizing both guys for their lack of team success in college.

Add their games up and see how they turn the program around. LSU wasn’t turned around, they’re great players. They’re good, they made it to the NBA, they’re good kids that can play, it’s just sometimes, these people get to twist their words and make it seem like they’re doing something. Don’t complain and talk about stuff, go ahead and do something.

Don’t worry about the outside stuff that’s going on, these guys gotta get healthy and at least get on the court first. Both of ‘em played in college and didn’t uplift their team. I ain’t got nothing against Fultz, that boy can play, but if you really that good, your team gotta go at least .500 if you got a bunch of blind midgets.

I’m not entirely sure a team of blind midgets would have been a noticeable downgrade from the 2016-17 Washington Huskies. That said, the only thing made clear in the interview is the Ball family’s status as public enemy No. 1 in Philadelphia; the Sixers have already shown they’re ecstatic about the chance to clown on Lonzo Ball, and they should get a couple shots a year for a long time.

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Sixers already have beef with Lonzo Ball.

One area where Sixers fans may side with Ball is his opinion of Jerry Colangelo. The elder Colangelo expressed concern about the people around Lonzo during a previous interview with 94.1 WIP in Philadelphia, and LaVar took notice.

Colangelo, the father, he’s the one messing it up, he’s worried about everything on the outside instead of getting the players. He’s worried about the parents and all that, you need to worry about the players you need to get in your system.

I heard him say one thing I don’t like, ‘I don’t like the people around Lonzo.’ That’s the one where I’m just like, okay, what have you got? All you did [was run] the USA team, and now you’re son is running a business over there, and you’re a so-called consultant. You’re a helicopter parent, over there trying to tell your son what to do. He’s messing up everything.

I would tend to agree that Jerry Colangelo is probably the last guy who should be doling out lectures to parents about how to handle their children, given how the Sixers’ “hiring process” went down. But in case there is any doubt, I’m with Embiid on this one, and I hope each and every member of the Sixers’ core dunks on Lonzo Ball every time out.

If you want to subject yourself to 20 minutes of LaVar talk, here’s the rest.