The Lakers have tumbled into irrelevance without LeBron James. That might normally cost a coach his job, but Luke Walton’s remains safe for now.
Despite Los Angeles’ immense struggles without James, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss remains in Walton’s corner and wants to keep him around, according to the New York Times. The paper reported Buss would “almost certainly” prevent any attempt that team president Magic Johnson or general manager Rob Pelinka made to try to get rid of the struggling coach.
It’s a massive change from Tuesday, when Walton was reportedly coaching for his job, according to Yahoo Sports, with a potential loss to the Bulls being a possible dagger in his stint in Los Angeles. The Lakers squeaked past 107-100 Tuesday night, which relieves some of the tension for now.
Walton, 38, has been under the microscope since the beginning of the season, when Johnson ripped him for the Lakers’ slow, 2-5 start. That was with a healthy James, who led the Lakers to a 20-14 mark before going down with a groin injury on Christmas Day. Since his sidelining, the Lakers have been in a landslide and are 3-7 in his absence, which has included losses to the Cavaliers and Knicks.
The Lakers have been without Rajon Rondo and missed a few games from Kyle Kuzma down this LeBron-less stretch. Outside of them, Walton hasn’t been getting much help from his young lottery-pick duo Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, whose passion Walton publicly questioned after a recent loss.
The Lakers will be without James for at least another two games, according to ESPN.