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Lakers coach Luke Walton appears to be on hot seat after Magic Johnson meeting
Ben Rohrbach,Yahoo Sports•November 2, 2018
It took all of two weeks for Luke Walton to learn the hard way what it means to coach LeBron James, the one NBA player who comes with immediate and often unreasonable championship expectations.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin, Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson “admonished” Walton for his team’s 3-5 start to the season in a meeting on Tuesday, roughly six weeks after telling his coach not to “worry about if we get out to a bad start.”
While the ESPN report described Johnson’s managerial style as “volatile,” it also suggested the Lakers legend-turned-executive isn’t the only one frustrated with Walton. The coach’s inconsistent lineups have generated “discontent among some Lakers veterans,” according to Wojnarowski and McMenamin.
Is LeBron James among the unhappy Lakers veterans?
James does not appear to be one of them — at least, according to his public statements.
I think Luke’s trying to figure out what works best,” he told reporter’s after Wednesday’s narrow victory against the Dallas Mavericks, via ESPN, acknowledging that Lonzo Ball’s midsummer knee surgery and early season suspensions to Rajon Rondo and Brandon Ingram have precipitated the roster shuffling.
Still, James knows full well that his presence leaves coaches on shaky ground. Often, he is the direct cause of that instability. He played his hand in the firings of Mike Brown (twice) and David Blatt in Cleveland. He unsuccessfully urged Pat Riley to replace Erik Spoelstra in Miami. Former Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue lived on that shaky ground for the last two years, catering to James’ every whim.
Ben Rohrbach,Yahoo Sports•November 2, 2018
It took all of two weeks for Luke Walton to learn the hard way what it means to coach LeBron James, the one NBA player who comes with immediate and often unreasonable championship expectations.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin, Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson “admonished” Walton for his team’s 3-5 start to the season in a meeting on Tuesday, roughly six weeks after telling his coach not to “worry about if we get out to a bad start.”
While the ESPN report described Johnson’s managerial style as “volatile,” it also suggested the Lakers legend-turned-executive isn’t the only one frustrated with Walton. The coach’s inconsistent lineups have generated “discontent among some Lakers veterans,” according to Wojnarowski and McMenamin.
Is LeBron James among the unhappy Lakers veterans?
James does not appear to be one of them — at least, according to his public statements.
I think Luke’s trying to figure out what works best,” he told reporter’s after Wednesday’s narrow victory against the Dallas Mavericks, via ESPN, acknowledging that Lonzo Ball’s midsummer knee surgery and early season suspensions to Rajon Rondo and Brandon Ingram have precipitated the roster shuffling.
Still, James knows full well that his presence leaves coaches on shaky ground. Often, he is the direct cause of that instability. He played his hand in the firings of Mike Brown (twice) and David Blatt in Cleveland. He unsuccessfully urged Pat Riley to replace Erik Spoelstra in Miami. Former Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue lived on that shaky ground for the last two years, catering to James’ every whim.
