Yesterday it was reported that LaVar Ball has taken issue with the way that the Lakers staff have coached Lonzo. LaVar feels that the Lakers are being too “soft” and that the team needs to put more pressure on Lonzo. On Tuesday, Luke Walton responded to these comments by saying he’s putting “absolutely nothing” into what LaVar thinks.
Lonzo is current averaging right around 9 PPG, 7 APG and 7 RPG. Those numbers are not terrible, but for someone who came in with the amount of hype Lonzo did, to put up these pedestrian numbers while continuing to struggle with shooting is a bit troublesome. LaVar is very aware of the criticisms about Lonzo and this is not the first time we’ve seen him put the blame on someone else to save his sons. Earlier this season LaVar blamed the Lakers for not using his son correctly, previously he pulled his LaMelo out of school because he did not like the high school coach and now once again he’s blaming the Lakers staff.
To Luke Walton’s credit, he does not look like he is going to fold to LaVar on this topic, or any other and he shouldn’t. Walton has experience as a coach in the NBA and listening to what a player’s father says is not a good look, so sticking to his philosophy now will show the public, but most importantly his team that he runs things, not LaVar.