This has much more to do with that Walton/McGee/Beasley dust-up than his talent
With all the drama going on around the organization and with Anthony Davis not coming, the Lakers front office needed to show good faith to Luke Walton.
This move has everything to do with the Saturday night loss to Golden State. Michael Beasley was one of the veterans that had an issue with his role and the substitution patterns. I got out to the media (like again!) and there were conflicting stories.
As uncertainty surrounds Lakers into deadline week, several veterans -- including Michael Beasley -- had an emotionally-charged verbal exchange with head coach Luke Walton postgame tonight, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium. It stopped short of turning physical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2019
The argument went past the normal NBA discussions and got close to being something extra. With Ramona Shelburne saying different.
Texted a few folks about whatever it was that happened in Lakers lockeroom tonight. One described it as typical lockeroom stuff & said, “It never got close to getting out of control, people are always emotional after a loss.”
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 3, 2019
Michael Beasley may have seen the writing on the wall when he made it a point to talk to Yahoo! Sports.
"“This past Saturday after the Warriors game, Coach Walton and our team had a conversation after a tough loss. Despite reports to the contrary, there was nothing physical between Coach Walton, me, or any other teammate,” Beasley said. “I’ve sat back in the past when stories have been twisted and misreported, but I won’t do that this time. I respect Luke and I respect this team. We are trying to win a championship together.”"
But let’s be clear here, this is a message to the players and everyone else involved especially LeBron. Luke Walton has the support of the franchise and the man is not going anywhere.
But with LeBron James (or his camp…) already leaking the “preference” of a coaching change.
Plus media reports of Walton’s demise, this trade shows one thing.
Here’s what Lakers GM Rob Pelinka said about Coach Luke Walton...
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) February 8, 2019
“Luke’s done an amazing job,” he said, adding that the front office and Walton were “totally unified.”
“Our communication is lockstep,” he said.
Look for the Carmelo Anthony signing to appease LeBron James if things start to go south.
Office politics at it’s finest!