Luke Walton is basically getting set up for failure…hopefully he knows it!
Here’s a nice LeBron James fact for Lakers fans for clarity here…Luke Walton and LeBron James were drafted the same year way back in 2003.
They were teammates in Cleveland during James’ first tenure in Cleveland. LeBron was the superstar while Walton was so far down on the bench he had to watch the game on cable. Now the dynamics have changed.
Back then it was James running the team, (Hello? it was reported that LeBron James was not fond of Paul Silas either back then!) Coming into this season it was Walton supposedly running the team. Right?
Well last week, there were reports that LeBron James’ camp preferred a coaching change.
Lakers Rumors: LeBron James’ camp reportedly “prefers a coaching change”!
Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors involve head coach Luke Walton, as LeBron James' camp would reportedly prefer a head coaching change to be made.
ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan was on the “Brian Windhorst & Hoop Collective” podcast last week about the front office rumblings…
"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.”"
The NBA is a players league folks. Their names are on the marquee. Fans come to see them play. If you think coaches are not replaceable, just carry a short conversation with Dwane Casey, the reigning NBA’s Coach of the Year who got fired from the Toronto Raptors after setting a franchise regular season record in wins last year. Oh by the way, he was replaced by a coach, Nick Nurse who had ZERO head coaching experience. This is under normal circumstances.
LeBron James is the face of the entire NBA right now, not just the Los Angeles Lakers. I see it very difficult for James to look at Luke Walton as a “supervisor” (because if you look at the hierarchy of the Lakers actually by business definition he is…) after…
–Leading eight straight teams to the NBA Finals
plus…
–based on their past relationship in Cleveland, LeBron James may not see Walton as his peer subconsciously.
That was on display with the story that broke about LeBron ignoring Walton’s play calls on the sideline…
Brian Windhorst’s report on the NBA scouts observations…
"The scouts also have noticed that when James is running the point, he rarely looks toward the bench to receive play calls from coach Luke Walton. Even when he has seen them, the scouts say, he ignores them and runs the play he prefers. Walton has adjusted, and now when James is running the show, Walton will typically just let him call the game. This probably shouldn’t be considered a slight — it’s just James being James."
My point exactly.
It’s just James being James.