Los Angeles Lakers veterans Michael Beasley and JaVale McGee reportedly got into a heated locker room confrontation with head coach Luke Walton following the Lakers' 115-101 defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors. Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that Beasley and Walton have already ironed out their differences and are ready to move past the incident:
Players and coaches cooled off before the incident escalated into anything physical, and there was genuine hope around the Lakers that this was what this team needed to cleanse their issues. Beasley is among players who prefer clarity on their role and to be given confidence by Walton, sources said. Beasley and Walton spoke afterward, a source said, and moved past the incident.
Walton reportedly criticized the team's veterans for their selfish play down the stretch of Saturday night's game, which ultimately led to the Lakers dropping their fifth loss in seven games. Beasley and McGee apparently got fed up with Walton's sermon and called him out on his inconsistent rotations. Fortunately, as The Athletic reports, the heated incident didn't spill into anything physical, and the cool heads eventually prevailed.
Moreover, according to Charania, while many may view this incident as signs of a dysfunctional locker room, some think that the Lakers needed this to help them moving forward:
“They needed to talk things out,” another source said. “They needed it — and it will help them.”
The Lakers are a bit of a mess right now. There is simply a lot of drama going on in Hollywood — from trade rumors to injuries to locker room issues. They will surely welcome anything that can help them get back on track and into the playoff race, even if it means honest confrontations like this one.
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