LaVar Ball Rips 'Worst Coach' Luke Walton, Anthony Davis as He Eyes Lonzo Trade
TIMOTHY RAPPFEBRUARY 5, 2019
Ben Margot/Associated Press
LaVar Ball isn't happy with the Los Angeles Lakers.
In the wake of Lonzo Ball's name being floated in Anthony Davis trade rumors, LaVar Ball appeared on the Doug & Wolf radio show in Arizona and ripped Lakers head coach Luke Walton:
"Luke Walton was the worst coach he ever had. It was Magic [Johnson] who said he was going to be the dang face of the franchise. But Magic ain't doing no coaching. And the only person to kill Lonzo is the coach pulling him out and not having no confidence in him. Everyone who's had confidence in Lonzo just let him go and let him win. That's what he does. He wins. Luke Walton turned him into a loser. A loser's mentality is like, 'Oh, he's young, he'll get it.' Instead of just letting him go out there and do what he does."
"The Lakers gave my boy that losing attitude," LaVar added.
He continued: "I tell you what: Lonzo makes everybody better. That's what he's always did all his life. You don't even hear of [Kyle] Kuzma if Lonzo don't make him in the Las Vegas Summer League. You see every time Kuzma plays by himself? [Josh] Hart, [Brandon] Ingram by himself? They don't get nothing. They look raggedy."
Davis didn't escape Ball's wrath either.
"AD is good!" Ball said. "But he's not a winner. How many playoff games has he won? He's been in the league a long time, there's a difference between players and winners."
He also spoke of his pipe-dream of seeing his three sons on an NBA team together. He said that LiAngelo Ball should be in the league and even boasted LiAngelo could be the NBA's best 2-guard. LiAngelo, of course, went undrafted this past summer.
Finally, LaVar said the Phoenix Suns were "the best place for Lonzo" to end up.
It's no secret that the Lakers covet Davis, and that Lonzo would be one of the principle players headed to the New Orleans Pelicans in any swap.
But LaVar's continued antics may have soured New Orleans on the prospect of acquiring his son:
LaVar and Lonzo have little leverage in any decision—given he's under contract for two more seasons and isn't an All-Star—beyond making such a scene that an NBA team doesn't want anything to do with the Ball circus. However, other franchises will take notice and may also be less inclined to deal with the Ball family.
It's possible the Pelicans could reroute Lonzo to a team such as the Suns for the right return if they pull the trigger on a Davis trade with Lakers. LaVar will certainly try to will it into existence, and the move would make sense for Phoenix, which is in desperate need of a point guard upgrade.
But it's just as possible that Lonzo either ends up in New Orleans or stays in Los Angeles. And if the latter happens, it's hard to imagine anybody in the Lakers organization would be happy that LaVar took a blowtorch to Walton, various players and the organization at large.
It might be an awkward few months in Los Angeles.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles...l&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com
TIMOTHY RAPPFEBRUARY 5, 2019
Ben Margot/Associated Press
LaVar Ball isn't happy with the Los Angeles Lakers.
In the wake of Lonzo Ball's name being floated in Anthony Davis trade rumors, LaVar Ball appeared on the Doug & Wolf radio show in Arizona and ripped Lakers head coach Luke Walton:
"Luke Walton was the worst coach he ever had. It was Magic [Johnson] who said he was going to be the dang face of the franchise. But Magic ain't doing no coaching. And the only person to kill Lonzo is the coach pulling him out and not having no confidence in him. Everyone who's had confidence in Lonzo just let him go and let him win. That's what he does. He wins. Luke Walton turned him into a loser. A loser's mentality is like, 'Oh, he's young, he'll get it.' Instead of just letting him go out there and do what he does."
"The Lakers gave my boy that losing attitude," LaVar added.
He continued: "I tell you what: Lonzo makes everybody better. That's what he's always did all his life. You don't even hear of [Kyle] Kuzma if Lonzo don't make him in the Las Vegas Summer League. You see every time Kuzma plays by himself? [Josh] Hart, [Brandon] Ingram by himself? They don't get nothing. They look raggedy."
Davis didn't escape Ball's wrath either.
"AD is good!" Ball said. "But he's not a winner. How many playoff games has he won? He's been in the league a long time, there's a difference between players and winners."
He also spoke of his pipe-dream of seeing his three sons on an NBA team together. He said that LiAngelo Ball should be in the league and even boasted LiAngelo could be the NBA's best 2-guard. LiAngelo, of course, went undrafted this past summer.
Finally, LaVar said the Phoenix Suns were "the best place for Lonzo" to end up.
It's no secret that the Lakers covet Davis, and that Lonzo would be one of the principle players headed to the New Orleans Pelicans in any swap.
But LaVar's continued antics may have soured New Orleans on the prospect of acquiring his son:
LaVar and Lonzo have little leverage in any decision—given he's under contract for two more seasons and isn't an All-Star—beyond making such a scene that an NBA team doesn't want anything to do with the Ball circus. However, other franchises will take notice and may also be less inclined to deal with the Ball family.
It's possible the Pelicans could reroute Lonzo to a team such as the Suns for the right return if they pull the trigger on a Davis trade with Lakers. LaVar will certainly try to will it into existence, and the move would make sense for Phoenix, which is in desperate need of a point guard upgrade.
But it's just as possible that Lonzo either ends up in New Orleans or stays in Los Angeles. And if the latter happens, it's hard to imagine anybody in the Lakers organization would be happy that LaVar took a blowtorch to Walton, various players and the organization at large.
It might be an awkward few months in Los Angeles.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles...l&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com
Because his public comments will never HELP the situation 
