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What's the story?
The top brass of the Lakers management - Jeanie Buss and Earvin Magic Johnson - have officially put all rumors to rest regarding Luke Walton's job security as the Los Angeles Lakers' head coach.
In case you didn't know
At the beginning of the weekend, there were reports and rumors, brought to the spotlight by ESPN's Brian Windhorst, about some Lakers' executives not having unconditional support for Walton. Windhorst further reported that the franchise could be looking at Fizdale, former head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Heart of the matter
More than a week earlier, LaVar Ball, father of Lakers' starting point guard Lonzo Ball, stated the team is playing like they have lost confidence in their coach. The statement got a lot of backlash not only from a few players in the Lakers' locker room but also throughout the league from other head coaches.
Then, the team was on a season-worst 9-game losing streak. However, since that statement was made, the team has gone on a season-best 4-game winning streak, after their most recent overtime win in Dallas.
However, what happened just before and after that win, put all rumors to rest. First, team co-owner Buss tweeted:
Note the hashtag "#InLukeWeTrust". Less than a few minutes after the win against the Mavericks, team president had a couple tweets of his own.
What's next?
A Lot of road games ahead for this young Lakers team. They play seven of their next team games away from the Staples Center, the first game being on Monday night at Memphis against the Grizzlies.
Author's take
Jeanie Buss and Magic Johnson probably thought "better late than never". Other than Windhorst's reporting, there is no real doubt shown by the Lakers management. In hindsight, the power duo probably made the right move, not speaking about the matter in the heat of the matter. They allowed the discussion to cool down and then they put the matter to bed with one tweet, two in the case of Magic.
Guess the Lakers players!
