Lakers will regret siding with Luke Walton over Los Angeles feud - NBA expert
LOS ANGELES LAKERS head coach Luke Walton has reportedly received the board’s backing after a poor run of form, but they will be regretting that decision come the end of the season.
Walton should be fired after Lakers’ loss to Hawks says pundit
That is according to NBA pundit Nick Wright.
The Lakers have lost four of their last five games while disharmony has been caused in the camp due to last week’s trade deadline ongoings.
In an attempt to secure six-time All-Star Anthony Davis, the Lakers offered over five youngsters in their roster.
Those players appear to be demotivated by their ostensible dispensability and have performed poorly alongside LeBron James, who recently returned after his longest ever spell of convalescence.
The 117-113 loss to Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night sparked fury from Lakers fans, who were calling for Walton to be fired.
Sitting tenth in the Western Conference, the NBA’s biggest franchise faces a tough task securing the playoffs.
Reports emerged on Wednesday that Walton has the board’s backing, but NBA pundit Wright does not believe that is a wise decision.
“My initial reaction was: ‘Well, this was the plan.’ The plan was certainly to give Luke Walton this year, the full year,” Wright said on First Things First.
LA Lakers: Walton says team needs to reflect after Hawks loss
They might look back and say: ‘Why did we want to keep Luke Walton?’
“And that was without anticipating LeBron missing more time than he’s ever missed due to injury… [With all the team’s injuries] it’s justifiable.
“I think it’s the wrong decision. I think you had plenty of reasons to deviate from the plan, from the intangible reason which is: how much really are the young players developing?
“How much was that blowout loss - right at the trade deadline to the Pacers - the fault of a coach’s ability to tell these guys: ‘Look, you’ve got a job to do. This is part of being a pro athlete.’ That’s the intangible.
“To the tangible, which is the haphazard rotations, the minutes that go up and down and fluctuate.
“I remember early in the year we were really concerned about LeBron’s minutes. That went out the window right about the time you had reason to be concerned about LeBron’s minutes coming off the injury.
“I think at the end of the year they might look back and say: ‘Why did we want to keep Luke Walton?’”