Amid the nine-game losing streak during the 2017-18 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers are once again dealing with LaVar Ball's comments. Despite President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka asking Ball to tone down his public criticism of head coach Luke Walton, it has not changed.
With the Lakers hosting the Atlanta Hawks, Ball believes Walton has lost the team's locker room. However, the second-year head coach disagrees and revealed his only concern about the latest situation according to Bill Oram of Orange County Register:
Luke Walton responds to LaVar Ball’s allegation that he has lost the locker room. “I would disagree with that,” he said. pic.twitter.com/dimJr1NEqv
— Bill Oram (@billoram) January 7, 2018
With great optimism heading into the season, it is an extremely tough situation for all parties involved. For Walton, he is handling the situation well as his focus is on how this ultimately affects Lonzo Ball, not himself.
For the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, it puts him in an extremely awkward situation. While Ball has been short with his responses to the media, his reaction to his father's comments about Walton will be heavily dissected. Although the media is trying to make him choose between his father and head coach, Ball is only focused on winning games.
After missing six games due to a shoulder injury before returning against the Charlotte Hornets, the hope is Ball can help the Lakers become competitive again. While all the attention had been on Ball's poor shooting percentages to start his rookie season, he has improved and shown how much he impacts his team beyond the box score.
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