LaVar Ball may think the Los Angeles Lakers need to fire head coach Luke Walton, but Ball’s opinion means virtually nothing to the people who are in charge of making those decisions.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported on Sunday that Walton is in no danger of losing his job despite how poorly the Lakers have played over the past few weeks.
Luke Walton's job status is "not even a conversation" according to a Lakers source. https://t.co/7UoivlCUtH
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 7, 2018
The Lakers snapped a nine-game losing streak on Sunday night with a 132-113 win over the Atlanta Hawks. The victory came on the heels of LaVar Ball saying he believes players are tuning Walton out and do not want to play for him.
After the game, Walton was asked about giving Lonzo Ball some time with the second unit. He joked that he was punishing the rookie for the remarks his father made.
“Um, yeah, his dad was talking s— so I took him out early,” Walton said.
Walton then said he was “just kidding” and explained that Lonzo was tired a few times and asked for breaks and that the plan going into the game was to play him more with the second unit.
The Lakers have failed to live up to expectations this season, but team owner Jeanie Buss recently tweeted her support for Walton.
Thank you for the unwavering support. We will get there and it will be sweeter because we went through the tough times together. Luke Walton: “We will get through this and we will be stronger when we do.” #Lakers Family #InLukeWeTrust https://t.co/tSsut2NJlf
— Jeanie Buss (@JeanieBuss) December 31, 2017
Lonzo and his teammates insist LaVar’s comments are not a distraction, but the way some NBA coaches are reportedly trying to take a stand against LaVar has to create at least some awkwardness for his 20-year-old son.
