The always outspoken LaVar Ball recently bashed Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton. Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, who’s also the head of the coaches association, was less than pleased.
Rick Carlisle: “The recent ESPN article, as the president of the coaches association, I would consider it a disgrace.”
On the article about Lavar Ball calling out Luke Walton, saying he lost the team.
— Nick Angstadt (@NickVanExit) January 7, 2018
Ball made the comments from Lithuania, where he was recently mobbed upon arriving.
“You can see they’re not playing for Luke no more,” Ball said, per Jeff Goodman of ESPN. “Luke doesn’t have control of the team no more. They don’t want to play for him.”
One wonders if Carlisle is more upset with Ball, or ESPN.
The comments from Ball were inflammatory towards Walton. Naturally, a coach, let alone the president of the coaches association, wouldn’t be happy about them. Still, anyone who’s paid even semi attention to Ball over the last year isn’t surprised. This is what he does whenever he’s given a forum. In this case, the worldwide leader supplied the forum.
Walton has previously shaken off Ball’s big personality and once again did so in response to this recent criticism.