By all accounts, Luke Walton is an outstanding coach. Ask 11-time National Basketball Association champion Phil Jackson, who saw his potential as a bench tactician even when he was still burning rubber. Ask 2016 Red Auerbach Trophy recipient Steve Kerr, who took him in as an assistant with the Warriors, and who then parlayed his presence while recuperating from a back injury into the Coach of the Year award. Ask Lakers President Magic Johnson, who hired him in the offseason to steer the youthful purple and gold on the court. And ask franchise owner Jeanie Buss, who continues to support him despite the poor slate halfway through the 2017-2018 campaign.
Again, by all accounts, Walton is an outstanding coach. Okay, maybe not by all accounts, since LaVar Ball doesn鈥檛 think so. In fact, the latter believes the rookie mentor 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 have control of the team no more. They don鈥檛 want to play for him.鈥 How the conclusion — enunciated during an interview with ESPN held in a city some 6,000 miles away from Los Angeles — was arrived at, though, only the outspoken father of 2017 second overall draft pick Lonzo knows.
Significantly, Walton has been the target of LaVar鈥檚 ire in the past. In separate statements late last year, the elder Ball contended that he 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 know how to coach my son,鈥 and that 鈥測ou give me those guys, and I guarantee you they鈥檒l be in a much better position.鈥 And while he has seen fit to just shrug off the comments, the Lakers have moved to protect him, first by banning interviews in a section of the Staples Center where family members and guests gather, and then by meeting with the Big Baller Brand head in an effort to tone down the criticism.
Clearly, LaVar will be LaVar regardless of what anybody else thinks — or does, even to protect him from himself. He has famously clashed with coaches of his sons, among them UCLA鈥檚 Steve Alford and Chino Hills High鈥檚 Dennis Latimore, firmly deeming himself superior and, needless to say, the foremost authority in coaxing the best out of his progeny. Walton understands this, and has wisely sought to ignore the noise. After all, there is no point in going back and forth with a quarter insistent on furthering flawed logic.
Under the circumstances, Walton is unfairly being targeted for sporting a record that, truth to tell, reflects the level of talent at his disposal. Not even the most astute pencil pusher can make a silk purse out of a sow鈥檚 ear. And it鈥檚 fair to wonder if the Lakers really do want him, and expect him, to succeed this season. Given the personnel moves they鈥檝e made — or, to be more precise, haven鈥檛 made — of late, it鈥檚 evident that they鈥檙e saving salary cap space for the big guns in free agency next year.
Which is to say Rick Carlisle, Mavericks coach and president of the NBA coaches鈥 association, cannot be more right in cautioning ESPN to 鈥渓ook at their sources and do a better job of determining whether they have any merit or any validity. Or are they just blowhard loudmouths?鈥 He referred to Walton as 鈥渁 terrific young coach who is bringing along a young team, and it鈥檚 a difficult task.鈥 Indeed.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.
