The Los Angeles Lakers recently arranged a meeting with LaVar Ball to ask that he tones down his criticism of head coach Luke Walton, according to a report by ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. Lakers' President of basketball operations, Magic Johnson, and general manager, Rob Pelinka, reportedly held the meeting within the last few weeks.
LaVar, father of Lakers rookie Lonzo, spoke with ESPN about what went down in the meeting, and said it was about "coming together and to get a solution to this problem."
Per ESPN,
"It was the best thing, man. Everybody's going to try to make it an ego thing, like I'm trying to tell them what to do or they're trying to tell me to tone it down. It's not about that. It's about coming together and to get a solution to this problem."
"I'm going to say whatever I want to say, however I want to say it," Ball said. "And they said, 'LaVar, come and talk to us first.' So that's fine, too.
"But I am going to say, to plant a seed, 'Let's look for this now.' They may not want to hear that, but it's going to be successful if you listen to what I'm saying on that fact, that I know what it takes for my son to run like this."
LaVar has been critical of the way the Lakers coaches have dealt with his son at times this season, and recently suggested during a SiriusXM NBA interview that the coaches are the reason the team has a "raggedy" record. Those comments reportedly came after LaVar's meeting with Magic and Rob Pelinka.
In an effort to quiet LaVar, the Lakers also recently enforced "an existing policy" which prevents members of the media from congregating in a section of the arena among family and friends of players after games. According to ESPN's Chris Haynes, Staples Center employees are referring to this as the "LaVar Ball Rule."
Still, LaVar insists he's only doing what's best for Lonzo, which he feels is what's best for the Lakers' organization.
"It may sound crazy to other people, but I really just want the best for Lonzo, and the best for Lonzo is going to be what's best for the organization. Because if everybody's winning, we good," Ball told ESPN.
Confirming @ramonashelburne’s report that Lakers met with LaVar Ball to ask him to cool his criticisms of Luke Walton.