Lakers coach Luke Walton on Sunday said that he has "received assurances from team executives that his job is safe" after LaVar Ball in an ESPN report said that Walton had "lost the locker room and his players no longer wanted to play for him," according to Tania Ganguli of the L.A. TIMES. Walton said, “I feel very secure in my job status right now. We talk all the time. They’re 100% behind (us) and supporting what we’re doing.” Ganguli noted Ball has "not been shy with his critiques of the Lakers," and team execs have "not hidden their attempts to silence him, even pre-emptively." They have often "bristled when reporters spoke with LaVar, long before he began criticizing their coaching staff." Ball earlier this season said that the Lakers’ coaching staff was "'soft' on his son," G Lonzo Ball. Lakers President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka not long after "met with him to encourage more positive comments about the Lakers." Six days later, LaVar Ball "gave a radio interview and criticized Walton’s rotations, including Lonzo’s lack of fourth-quarter playing time" (L.A. TIMES, 1/8). In California, Bill Oram noted this was the first time LaVar Ball had "outright suggested Walton should not coach the Lakers" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 1/8). In N.Y., Frank Isola writes Johnson and Pelinka "find themselves in an awkward position because they have nothing to gain by commenting publicly" about Ball’s claim. By "responding to LaVar’s nonsense, the team only legitimizes and empowers him." So they "ignore LaVar and hope this blows over quickly" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/9).
CAN'T KEEP HIM QUIET: YAHOO SPORTS' Chris Mannix wrote the Lakers "thought they muzzled Ball last month, when public criticism of Walton forced a meeting" with Ball, Johnson and Pelinka. Ball "declared everyone on the same page then, yet the Lakers recent skid has renewed his attacks, driving a wedge" between Walton and Lonzo Ball. If there is a "certainty to the fallout of LaVar’s outburst, it’s this: He won’t get what he wants." Firing Walton, "even after the season, will be seen as the team bowing to LaVar’s public pressure and would only empower him further." Perhaps the "only way to back his coach is to draw a hard line with the man going after him." An NBA exec said, “It’s time for Magic to take the gloves off. I would call (LaVar) in and tell him, ‘No more.’ I would tell him that the next time he disrespects the organization, he will have his family privileges pulled at the arena” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/8). ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne wrote it "should be clear at this point that Ball will not stop saying and doing whatever he wants." He has said that "many times." Ball's "current target is Walton." Next it "could be Johnson or [Lakers President Jeanie] Buss or Pelinka or any of Lonzo's teammates." There will "always be a microphone or television camera around to capture him saying it." The story now is "how the Lakers react." Appeasement "hasn't worked." Neither "has deference." Silence only "makes his voice louder and helps grow the seeds he's trying to plant" (ESPN.com, 1/8).
L.A. PROBLEMS: In Oklahoma City, Barry Tramel writes the ESPN story did "not shine a light on Walton’s coaching acumen" but instead highlighted "some of the obstacles Walton must deal with" while coaching the Lakers. Ball’s "constant and nonsensical chattering is most definitely a problem, and that’s not ESPN’s concoction." That burden "belongs to the Lakers, who drafted Lonzo Ball knowing exactly what it was getting." The Lakers "signed on for this, and now the Lakers reap what they sowed" (OKLAHOMAN, 1/9). ESPN's Brian Windhorst said the Lakers "knew what they got into" when they drafted Lonzo Ball, and the organization now has to "take care of this situation." Windhorst: "LaVar is playing a little bit with the media. The Lakers can play with the media back" ("The Jump," ESPN2, 1/8). In L.A., Bill Plaschke asks, "Is Lonzo Ball worth it?" Do the Lakers "really need to stay in the Ball business?" There seems to be "only one way the Lakers can regain control of a nasty narrative that is swallowing their rebuilding efforts and damaging their hopes of attracting top free agents." They need to "meet with LaVar Ball and tell him if he doesn’t shut up, they will trade his son" (L.A. TIMES, 1/9).
