Lakers Rumors: LeBron James’ camp reportedly “prefers a coaching change”!
By Ronald Agers
Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors involve head coach Luke Walton, as LeBron James’ camp reportedly wants a coaching change. We break it all down here!
Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors shouldn’t surprise anyone. Stop me if you have heard this a time or two in the 16 years that LeBron James has played in the NBA…
There are rampant rumors around the NBA about a coaching change on a LeBron James team with his name attached all over it. Nothing new right? Outside of the Miami Heat, who stuck by Erik Spoelstra, numerous coaches have been fired for various reasons.
This was a point of emphasis that had to be looked at the second LeBron James signed his four-year, $154 million dollar contract in the offseason. Since then, the paradigm of the Lakers future leading into the season has comparisons to walking a tightrope. Plans that seemed so great in the earlier stages have not panned out and theories that sounded great in the media now have a slim chance of happening.
Like LeBron James practicing patience after going to the NBA Finals eight years in a row! You had to know he would get impatient when things got rocky.
It’s not like he practiced patience when things were good, remember?
Many fans have debated if the LeBron James “Coach Killer” moniker is fair or not, but we can all push our chips in and see if LeBron James has earned his well-known reputation for sending coaches to the unemployment line!
Hey Luke Walton! Can you step forward, please?
To be clear here, Walton’s job security has been the centerpiece of the hottest Lakers rumors since the season started. It started with a 2-5 start that got a meeting with Magic Johnson that got heated. After a major run that got the team as high as the 4th seed, the Golden State Warriors win on Christmas Day turned everything upside down!
LeBron James suffered a groin injury that has kept him out of the lineup but not of the news we see.
On the “Brian Windhorst & Hoop Collective” podcast, Jackie MacMullan of ESPN stated that there are rumblings in LeBron James’ camp that they want a new head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers and according to Jackie and Brian Windhorst, who basically can place his bio next to James co-signed in my opinion. Here are the quotes…
"MacMullan: “There’s a lot of tension in that building. A lot of tension in that building, and I think people are wondering about Luke Walton even though Jeanie Buss came out very strongly and said ‘I want Luke to be here, I back him 100 percent,’ but then also made the point that has to be made, and that’s that she hired Earvin Magic Johnson to make these decisions, and if Earvin feels differently she gave him the power to make those kinds of decisions. It’s clear to me, and probably to you Brian, that LeBron’s camp would prefer a coaching change. They’re not too subtle about that.” Windhorst: “LeBron publicly hasn’t talked publicly in a month.” MacMullan: “Not LeBron, but all the people around LeBron, and they’ve made it known. I don’t think this a shock, is it? For me to say this?” Windhorst “That’s a fair thing to say. That’s a fair thing to say.”"
Before we go any further, let’s get the narrative of “Oh this was not coming from LeBron James reportedly, it’s just from his camp” out of the way quickly because it makes no sense.
If LeBron James really wanted Luke Walton as his coach, he would strongly support him in this difficult time while he was out. Then, the person in his camp that released this “rumor” out to credible members on the media such as Jackie MacMullan and Brian Windhorst both of ESPN would be gone.
That’s just common sense.
But it has set off a potential civil war in Laker land. Let’s look at all the players, shall we?