LaVar Ball believes that no one can coach his sons quite like he can, so he consistently comes after those who have been faced with the task of coaching Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo.
In fact, it was a difference of opinion between LaVar and the Chino Hills High School basketball coach that led to the Big Baller Brand patriarch pulling his youngest son from high school in order to focus on his own basketball training.
So with all of that, it is no surprise that LaVar is once again taking aim at Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton amid the team’s nine-game losing streak.
While speaking to the media in Lithuania as he prepares for LiAngelo and LaMelo’s professional debuts, LaVar said that no Lakers players have any interest in playing for Walton anymore and that he has completely lost control of the team.
From ESPN:
“You can see they’re not playing for Luke no more,” Ball said from a spa resort in Birstonas, where he is staying while his two youngest sons, LiAngelo and LaMelo, get ready to make their professional debuts with Lithuanian team Prienu Vytautas. “Luke doesn’t have control of the team no more. They don’t want to play for him.”
“That’s a good team,” he added of the Lakers, who have lost nine straight games. “Nobody wants to play for him. I can see it. No high-fives when they come out of the game. People don’t know why they’re in the game. He’s too young. He’s too young. … He ain’t connecting with them anymore. You can look at every player, he’s not connecting with not one player.”
[…]
“Even if you bring in a LeBron or a [Paul] George, he can’t coach them guys,” he said. “What is he gonna tell them? He’s too young. He has no control.”
LaVar previously criticized Lakers coaches for being “soft,” which led to a direct response from Walton in the media.
This time around, the criticism is much more damning and direct, so we will have to see if the Lakers head coach responds once again or if he attempts to move forward without any Ball distractions.
The Lakers look to snap their losing streak Sunday night against the Atlanta Hawks. Tip-off is set for 9:30 p.m. ET on the local FOX Sports channel.
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