The Lakers Are Getting Worried About How LaVar Ball’s Criticisms Of Luke Walton Will Impact His Son


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Lonzo Ball has a lot of people interested in bettering his NBA career. The Los Angels Lakers invested the future of their franchise into the point guard out of UCLA, and everyone in the organization is trying to help him shake off his inconsistent play to start his rookie year.

But Lonzo has other factors in his life, none more vocal than his father, LaVar Ball. The eldest Big Baller has shown a knack for promotion, and his antics have served a real purpose in Lonzo’s development — while everyone is talking about the Balls, many of them are talking about LaVar’s antics rather than Lonzo’s play.

Plenty of people have advice for Lonzo at this point, and some of that advice is good, like Kevin Garnett’s advice about developing his shot on the court and listening to coaches and veteran teammates. But looming over all of this is, of course, Lonzo’s most trusted ally: his father.


The Orange County Register reported on Saturday that the team is trying to figure out the best way to handle things. Some worry that bristling from LaVar could have consequences with the relationship between head coach Luke Walton and his starting point guard.

The Lakers have been careful not to legitimize LaVar Ball’s critiques by responding to them directly, but the constant bombast has caused some concern within the organization that LaVar’s message could eventually undercut Walton’s influence with Lonzo.

“They have their own relationship,” Walton said. “Lonzo does a great job of doing what we ask him to do. I don’t know what they talk about in private, but Lonzo’s an incredible team player. He’s here to make our team better. He’s always been on board with what we try to do.”

The problem, of course, is no one knows the real impact LaVar can have on his son’s decision-making. It seems absurd, but LaVar has made it clear that he’s looking out for his son and his son alone. If Lonzo would reciprocate that loyalty in a jam, there could be a whole mess of drama in Los Angeles in a hurry.

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