After a defeat to the Golden State Warriors that was much closer than it should have been, things reportedly got heated between some players and Lakers head coach, Luke Walton.
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
In postgame locker room, Luke Walton preached to players on playing unselfishly, sources said, when several veteran players snapped back. As one source described it, “Heated scene.” https://t.co/w7YXNeVgRl
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2019
With the trade deadline just days away and many reports surrounding the some of the veteran players being included in a package for Anthony Davis, tensions were high to put it likely.
It was reported by Sam Amick that JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson, and Michael Beasley were those that the message of “selflessness” was aimed at.
This appears to not be the first time that tempers flared between Beasley and Coach Walton, as there was some tension in the game against Oklahoma City earlier in January.
Not the first time things have gotten heated between Walton and Beasley. They had a flare-up on the bench in Oklahoma City earlier this month. https://t.co/xWxlSvES3q
— Bill Oram (@billoram) February 3, 2019
The players reportedly mostly argued with Walton over minutes distributions.
The veteran players raised their voice on topics of Walton’s playing time distribution and rotations, sources said. Hope afterward among players and coaches was that this helped cleanse issues within the team. https://t.co/NEEZ9Vyx4n
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2019
Stephenson, McGee and Beasley played 24, 11 and eight minutes, respectively in the loss to the Warriors.
It is unfair that Luke seems to be getting a brunt of the blame from fans and even his bosses alike. You can see that this takes a personal toll on the players. People see trades for players but it’s easy to forget that it takes time to move to a new city after settling into a new team just a few months prior.
Even though there was “selflessness” being preached to the players, they can see it as hypocritical coming from a franchise that would easily ship them out in seconds for Anthony Davis.
