Lakers Rumors: David Fizdale is a possible candidate to replace Luke Walton
Magic Johnson wants LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers, and firing Luke Walton for someone James loved as a coach may be the move for the Lakers.
New Los Angeles Lakers rumors have developed because of LaVar Ball. Whenever LaVar, the father of Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball, opens his mouth, it’s normally something bound to be insane. In his move to Lithuania, Ball criticized Walton for “losing” the Lakers, telling Jeff Goodman:
"“You can see they’re not playing for [Luke Walton] no more. Luke doesn’t have control of the team no more. They don’t want to play for him.”"
ESPN NBA analyst Brian Windhorst joined The Rich Eisen Show this Friday and talked about LaVar Ball. Although he expressed with caution there may be a hint not true, he speculated:
"“Whatever you want to say about LaVar, he has smoked out the fact that the Lakers do not support Luke Walton… Now there are guys out there wondering, executives, agents, coaches, to who the Lakers are going to hire as their next head coach.” Windhorst believes Magic and Pelinka are going to hire Fizdale if Walton is let go."
The man who infamously said “Take that for data!” after a loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs could end up being the Lakers head coach. I do not necessarily invite a head coach change this quickly.
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As aforementioned in a previous article written, I believe Magic cannot fire Walton immediately. Even without executives weighing in their opinions, it is clear Luke [to an extent] has lost the locker room.
Players expressed their grievances in a team meeting. If the team continues to win under Lonzo Ball‘s pace, there is no point of a culture change, as long as it is working.
Thoughts on David Fizdale as a Head Coach
Big props to the Memphis Grizzlies on wielding the ax on a possible long-tenured life with the organization. Although there could have been rambling within the hierarchy of the franchise, it was clear the Grizzlies no longer loved Fizdale.
Star point guard Mike Conley‘s injury obviously played a huge part in the Grizzlies misfortunes. They lost their leader and passion with his Achilles sprain. This is a team lacking manpower. Marc Gasol, a former star center with great two-way play, has slowed down due to wear and tear.
Gasol was benched in the fourth quarter against a somewhat surging Nets team. If it came down to fit, Memphis had to choose the clipboard artist or the aging veteran. They chose wrong. Gasol, again, has lost a step on defense and offense. Fizdale was fired the day after, and the entire NBA was shocked.
Next: Lakers: Lessons From Failed Super Team
A Fizdale hiring is too earlier to say. However, if the Lakers continue to lose on and off the court, don’t expect LaVar’s rambling to come true sooner down the road.