Lavar Ball: Players don't want to play for Luke anymore

[Revived]

The idea of Magic telling he Lavar he loses his family access at Lakers games is sound in logic but you never know how Lonzo might feel about it.

Yeah... Dont care what Lonzo feels about that.

If they do something like that I think it would piss Lavar off enough to where he demands a trade for Lonzo and that would just make things worse.

[MelosSoreWrist]

Lonzo has shown himself to be a poor teammate and a poor leader. It is what it is. That doesnt exclude him from being a good useful player on a team. The club will just have to figure out a way to manage lavar and lonzo.

Im just curious how you would respond if you had to balance between not insulting your father and not disrespecting your coach. I'm sure you'd have a response that comes off perfectly.

Its not that hard, man. "I love my pops, but he's wrong. He's on the other side of the world, he doesnt know whats going on in our lockerroom. Its on me as a player, its on us as a team." Take ownership of the team, take ownership of your own play. Theres not that much to balance. If Lavar cant take that, he is a poor ass father and a weak ass man.

[MelosSoreWrist]

The idea of Magic telling he Lavar he loses his family access at Lakers games is sound in logic but you never know how Lonzo might feel about it.

Yeah... Dont care what Lonzo feels about that.

If they do something like that I think it would piss Lavar off enough to where he demands a trade for Lonzo and that would just make things worse.

Lakers have all the power and leverage. And Lonzo hasnt done sh*t for Lonzo or Lavar to be demanding anything.

But if Lonzo did indeed take a stand, Id actually respect that. Because, as of now, he hasnt been able to stand up for himself in any situation.

[Wavy Q]

Lonzo has shown himself to be a poor teammate and a poor leader. It is what it is. That doesnt exclude him from being a good useful player on a team. The club will just have to figure out a way to manage lavar and lonzo.

Im just curious how you would respond if you had to balance between not insulting your father and not disrespecting your coach. I'm sure you'd have a response that comes off perfectly.

Its not that hard, man. "I love my pops, but he's wrong. He's on the other side of the world, he doesnt know whats going on in our lockerroom. Its on me as a player, its on us as a team." Take ownership of the team, take ownership of your own play. Theres not that much to balance. If Lavar cant take that, he is a poor ass father and a weak ass man.

Now be 19 and don't have the benefit of thinking about the statement or question beforehand.

[Dloading99]

Sometimes the loudest endorsers of the coach are the biggest sources saying the coach doesn't coach the team good.

it's not always about a player speaking in support of a coach. Lonzo is a guy who's going to play for whatever coach. he's not a guy who's going to demand to play for a certain coach it's not him. he's a special player.

The I'll play for anybody coach was whoever I'm supposed to play for I will play for. He went to UCLA to play for Steve Alford. There's a lot that goes on with teams players complain to Gm's about other players and coaches. Luke's got a lot of team stuff to deal with.
He's cool smart and knows the business of basketball.

Lavar is going to prop Lavar This is a guy who reads his headlines and thinks he is part of the NBA like Steve Kerr Kevin Durant Stephen Curry Lebron James Lavar Ball. he thinks he's the face of the league. the guy said he could beat Micheal Jordan one on one and people ran with it. so he's like I'll take more.

in this new culture The ESPN and Fox sports one have to figure out what is todays sports landscape. it's not Sportscenter anymore. back in the day. you would go home from school or at least I would and watch Up Close and then Sportscenter. and that would be it. maybe you would watch a little NBA tonight with David Aldridge that was my sports highlight.

today it's totally different you got shows like Around the Horn Pardon the Interuption. The Jump Speak For Yourself Unidsputed. it's more debate driven panel opinion. and the format is let's talk about controversial stuff.

up close it was an interview and that was it. NBA Inisde stuff we were given the highlights and a fluff interview with a few players. now it's Joel Embiid responding to Lavar Ball at the Draft. it's Lavar talking about Luke it's not been the first time he went at luke. now that's just what sports is.

For the Coaches side the coaches have to get used to it. this is what it is. The NBA is different Yeah players get Coaches Canned it just happens it's a players league. Lavar had nothing to do with what means anything it's the players comments. and to be real about it. they come off very entitled sometimes the AAU culture has done that. from DLO to Lonzo there is an entitlement that the team is counting on the player to bring the lakers back. Kobe was different wasn't an AAU kid. conceited but playing Basketball and being great is what he wanted if that meant playing for any coach he was going to do that.


Coaches gotta deal with it. obviously this has been brewing and coaches just want to take a stand for each other. and it's a Lavar isn't bigger then Coaches thing. what's funny is Lavar would never say this if it was Greg Popovich. the Lakers give him leeway so he feels he can say what he wants. Magic cares to much what everyone thinks of him so he won't say anything crazy. Lavar Lonzo is his guy.


reporters like Romona Shelbourne Kevin Ding engage in the soapy drama of reporting we saw it with the Jim Buss hit pieces all the free agent stuff. the product isn't as good as it was before a Philly Detroit game on a Tuesday isn't that interesting so you need things to make the season go by in a regular basketball season. so these are story fillers. Iverson's mom was a minny Lavar Ball with Allen Iverson we've seen this some what before. Like I said I've seen this before with Archie Manning.


But Lonzo has to tell Lavar to chill. I've seen great point guards traded Mike Bibby Jason Kidd Steve Nash it happens but Magic has probably already talked to Lavar and for all I know Lavar has talked to Luke maybe said he was trying to get some buzz for his other boys in Lithuania. They just need to be all on the same page next time.

[RamonSessions7]

It's funny. ESPN posts this TMZ-like article of an athletes parent complaining about how his son's team is ran. Now there's been 14+ follow up articles and interviews about how various coaches and players feel.
This is what Kerr was saying. How is ESPN at fault here if they are putting stuff out there that "society" is gonna gobble up. Espn is here to feed the crowd what they want, which is obviously this annoying reality-show gossip. They fired their actual nba writers because they weren't getting clicks. This is what ESPN is because this is what people turn it on for, for some reason I don't understand.
People watch espn create and run over these pointless topics that have nothing to do with the game. It's how they're built with the Stephen a smith character and skip before him, what Jalen rose and Paul pierce act as as commentators, michelle Beadle trying to act like a hip teenager, the sports center at 6 or whatever, etc. I can barely tolerate anything ESPN anymore.

What I would want out of our front office would've been a quick, simple press release saying that we are focused on our team/basketball/getting better/blah. It might come across as generic, but everyone of these coaches with long responses (though correct) just validate that what Lavar says can be put out there as newsworthy.

[RamonSessions7]

As a follow up, I take Lavar for what he is when stuff like this comes out...A character he's made to promote his sons and family business. I read this article about Luke lost the players, shrugged my shoulders, and moved on. The only sway he has is when people take him at his word as a crazed father who thinks his son is better than Curry. There's been plenty about the real Lavar and him talking as a normal, sane, down to earth person who wants the best for his kids, but that doesn't grab people or have the coverage so people keep running with his media supported image.

[DEEP3CL]

No coach will factor in their play like him or not, and that player's agent will go as far to debunk any negative view a team may think of him in case they wanted to meet with him.

I said this on page 4 only to be proven right. Julius Randle's agent came out and said what 100 percent of agents would say and do and that is to debunk what nonsense BS that LaVar said. He said to Bleacher Report that he loves how Luke is handling coaching the team.

Hate to pat myself on the back but I knew this was next and we'll see more in the coming days.

Agents aren't going to let their guy get sand bagged by a non factor NBA parent...free agent or not he has to watch out for the best interest in his guy.

[AmusingFiddle]

I used to think he was just an outspoken and Uber involved loud-mouth parent but....he is really getting on my nerves with whole Luke comment. Seriously, he needs to shut his trap and just focus on his stupid Big Baller Brand.

[Sushisensei26]

ESPN is TMZ now. Plain and simple. It didn't use to be that way. Ramona and their other writers can say on twitter that they write these "stories" because the public clicks on them. But its a chicken and egg thing isn't it.

Kerr is right in the sense that its a societal trend. But how much of that trend has been created and then fed by the media? Hard to answer that. I look at this way....... people click it because its there to be clicked, that is literally its purpose. If it wasn't there maybe this "societal trend" would shift. I think it would.

As far as Lavar goes......... moron. He is putting Lonzo in such an awkward situation. My only hope is that he is doing it without realizing it because if this is by design then he is a crappy human being and crappy father.

[Michael Lucky]

Funny how we always think of Lonzo as a perfect player that others would want to play with. Now I'm just worried that top FAs won't want to come here because they don't want to deal with the Lavar circus and having to answer questions over and over about what he said about them.

[HoopsMalone]

This is just silly to put this on luke. Sure the Lakers have some pretty good prospects but that's just what they are. PROSPECTS.

They aren't good players yet. A losing streak was inevitable at some point. Guys get fatigued, injuries strike, etc... you're going to have stretches where they don't play well, the schedule gets tough, shots don't fall, etc...

On top of that you have a lot of guys playing for contracts on a team everyone knew was going nowhere. And when you come out talking about cap space like Magic did. And show you're willing to trade prospects just to clear out veteran deals... you can't expect this to be a great situation.

There's just no need to create so much drama all the time. This is what rebuilding is. It takes time. 19 year olds don't win games in the NBA.

If this exact situation was happening in Orlando, Minnesota, etc everyone would say "hey they're doing a pretty good job of acquiring prospects".

If anyone is to blame its Jennie Buss for putting that timetable on Jim Buss and essentially forcing him to go for broke with the Deng/Mozgov deals. Now that was dumb. Your GM needs to have the same incentives your ownership does. If your GM is on a short timespan then its ownerships job to nix trades and free agent signings that don't meet their needs.

[HoopsMalone]

Funny how we always think of Lonzo as a perfect player that others would want to play with. Now I'm just worried that top FAs won't want to come here because they don't want to deal with the Lavar circus and having to answer questions over and over about what he said about them.

Exactly... if I'm Paul George this whole Lonzo/LAvar media circus definitely has me rethinking things. These guys have huge egos. They don't wanna be a spoke in Lonzo Ball's wheel.

I'm a big Lonzo fan and i still believe he'll be a great player. Hall of fame potential is still there. But he simply is not good enough and more importantly he isn't a lock to be good enough to be having this type of media circus.

[dockingsched]

I honestly think the Lavar issue is 100% irrelevant to his teammates as it relates to how they view Lonzo. May be it’s a small annoyance in the same way a fly inside your house is, but totally irrelevant in the grand scheme.

[Dloading99]

Deep I give you your NBA props.


This has a lot of different players. ESPN had to go the Sportscenter 6 because they wanted to be cooler and identify with the millennial crowd viewers or that's how it was sold. it was more of a entertainment type show with music and pop culture. mentions of cool music performers and stuff like that. dumb things fans do. memes it was all part of that. Lavar Ball jumped onto the scene acting like a WWF character and that's the character he continues to play.

He probably said his kids are good basketball players not great basketball players and he probably thought he was going to have to put some marketing behind his kids obviously he took it to the next level. now if Lavar thinks his kids are good you won't hear. it he'll say they are great. so he probably said I gotta build this thing. the Mannings of Basketball. in L.A. him being from South Central he's coming at this from a hustler's angle hip hop I'm going at you angle and he has to make it. so being from there he's probably always had to be outlandish to stand out. look at Big Baller it's all about doing it different. breaking the normal sneaker mold.


I liked him cause he was an underdog and you root for some one doing it grass roots. but he's gotten big headed.



I think the front office statement speaks Volumes. how do you know Magic didn't have a conversation with Lavar and was Like Yeah Luke's lost the team those guy's just aren't playing for them. but what are you going to do. and Lavar just got turned up and was like Luke's lost the team. he doesn't have to say where his source came from. and he can be the guy that says that and no one will bring it to the Lakers but bring it to Lavar.

How about that source statement it was pretty lukewarm no pun intended. but for the coaches to talk the way they talk there was something there. Does this happen with John Black probably not. cause John Black usually would right away come out with a statement and say it's bull. during the Kobe Shaq stuff he always was giving the statements saying all fake.


Magic has his strong hold on the organization. if he wants a statement to get out and get traction it will get out. he can denounce all those coach rumors right away. he can have the pr give the pr statement. He never hired Luke. and the telling Jerry West we are good spoke volumes. Magic Wants to do it all in the front office. Rob says what magic says and handles cap stuff.



For some reason with Jeanie and Jim the Lakers have taken on a TMZ type of team. and it's been odd watching it. you never really heard stuff like this before. like the Kobe shaq stuff but that was just basketball. this more seems like a reality show of a team then basketball team. and it continues to be like that. her timeline on them winning. Jim trying to swoop the team from her. Her comments about the All star player. the Magic stuff fiasco. Magic saying I want to call the shots. the handeling of Mitch. it's not the Laker way.



So all this Lonzo stuff is just showing it all. Agents saying what players they want the team to sign. it's nuts. WE had one guy we signed and he was great and our best free agent signing. his name was Shaquille O' Neal. Lebron now Paul George won't come close to that. Shaqs star at that time was Movie Star level. he was Shaq and he came to L..A. but all this stuff with the Lonzo and coach stuff is out of hand.



Paul George is coming to the Lakers Lavar has nothing to do with that. he's coming and it's more about Paul George wanting to have his Carmelo Lebron James moment. after the decision a lot of players wanted that. I don't agree how he's going about it. but the mentioning of recruiting he's signing. Magic already got the yes from him. but the flagrant way Magic has went about this is nuts. and when the president of basketball Operations says Lonzo is the Franchise and he will have his jersey retired Lavar sitting there says I can do what I want with this franchise. I'm the Lakers. WAIT til it's Max time. lol I will pay $500 to sit and listen to the Contract negotiations with Lavar Lonzo and the Lakers give My Son 500 million that's what he's worth to this franchise. it's laughable.


Yourr gonna have three guys playing the same position and Lonzo. I almost said Lavar Lol. You guys think it's funny but Lavar absolutely sees all his boys playing with the Lakers and he will try to figure that way out.


This to me speaks more to where the Lakers are at as a franchise. they gottta figure out do they want to be a respected franchise and a franchise about winning or do they want to be the franchise getting all the ESPN coverage.


And whose gonna coach the Lakers????????????? Stan Van Gundy talking about not giving certain reporters coverage is ridiculous. ESPN has paid the NBA Billions for him to do that is reckless. Don't blame ESPN for covering stories that fans want to see. Lavar Ball is a story in Basketball. the AAU games were comedy just watching him coach. and viewers don't want to always see Well we gotta play better as a team and get better to be beat Golden State. sometimes they want to see stuff like this.


The Crazy Lavar Ball coming to Lithuania is a movie it's a comedy this L.A. Loud Lavish guy in Lithuania high fiving Lithuanians saying Big Baller is comedy. and his son plays for the Lakers that's an NBA story. LAVAR is gonna Lavar we just gotta enjoy the Show.

[Indy2LA]

I wish we would have lost our pick last year. I'd give Lonzo away for free just so I never have to hear Lavar talk about this team again. Can't believe how much support he has on here. Go watch the Kardashians if you like that bull.

[RamonSessions7]

I wish we would have lost our pick last year. I'd give Lonzo away for free just so I never have to hear Lavar talk about this team again. Can't believe how much support he has on here. Go watch the Kardashians if you like that bull.

Or, you know, just watch the basketball and appreciate lonzo on the court and don't listen to the junk reality show peripheral crap.

[Dloading99]

Yeah a lot of Laker fans just like Lavar cause he's a Laker fan and they identify with Laker fans.

that's what makes Lavar Lavar cause he's a Laker fan with a voice into the Laker room. it's just crazy. he has a kid who plays on the Lakers so he can pop off like a fan and say things that fans say and it gets into the Locker room.

lol remember the day of Glen Rice and his wife talking about him on the Lakers nothing then he gets traded.

it seems like we have a bunch of AAU Kids on this team. we used to have Guys like Kobe and Shaq it's just different We are actually reporting on stuff like this with the team.

[Indy2LA]

I wish we would have lost our pick last year. I'd give Lonzo away for free just so I never have to hear Lavar talk about this team again. Can't believe how much support he has on here. Go watch the Kardashians if you like that bull.

Or, you know, just watch the basketball and appreciate lonzo on the court and don't listen to the junk reality show peripheral crap.

What am I supposed to appreciate? 35% from the field? The worst jumper in NBA history? A dunk in a game we lost by 20?

I'd rather have a chance to draft Marvin Bagley and get rid of this locker room cancer.

[RamonSessions7]

I wish we would have lost our pick last year. I'd give Lonzo away for free just so I never have to hear Lavar talk about this team again. Can't believe how much support he has on here. Go watch the Kardashians if you like that bull.

Or, you know, just watch the basketball and appreciate lonzo on the court and don't listen to the junk reality show peripheral crap.

What am I supposed to appreciate? 35% from the field? The worst jumper in NBA history? A dunk in a game we lost by 20?

I'd rather have a chance to draft Marvin Bagley and get rid of this locker room cancer.

Writing off 20yo rookies (be it by hand picking negative attributes about them) seems like such a fulfilling way to be a fan of a team. But I do not get drooling over some college prospect that we could have in your hypothetical scenario as a way of rooting.