Luke Walton fined $15K for criticizing officials after loss

The Los Angeles Lakers have played just three games in the LeBron James era, and head coach Luke Walton has already been fined for publicly bashing the officiating crew after one of them.

On Wednesday, the NBA announced that Walton has been fined $15,000 for remarks he made about the officiating crew following the Lakers’ 143-142 overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs Monday. Walton knew the fine was coming, and he acknowledged that when he made the initial comments. He felt there were several missed calls in the game.

“I wasn’t going to say anything. I was going to save my money, but I just can’t anymore,” Walton said, per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “It’s [74] points in the paint [by the Lakers] to 50, [and yet] again they outshoot us from the free throw line — 38 free throws [to 26 by the Lakers].”

Walton said there were several instances where LeBron and other players were hacked on their way to the rim and did not get a whistle. He said he wishes the league would try harder to “not reward people for flopping 30 feet from the hole” and instead pay closer attention to players who are being hit on the way to the basket.

The Lakers are off to a 0-3 start this season, and they are making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Between Walton’s fine and the ugly spitting situation between Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul, L.A. could really use a win to change things up.