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Adrian Wojnarowski
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Dave McMenamin
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ESPN Editor- Lakers and NBA reporter for ESPN.
- Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the 2014-18 Cavaliers for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.
At a meeting Tuesday, at the end of a winless match, Los Angeles Lakers' president, Magic Johnson, reprimanded his coach Luke Walton for the slow start to the season. 39 team, sources told the ESPN channel.
The evaluation of Johnson's cups sensitized Lakers coaching staff that there was intense and immediate pressure on Walton to make the franchise win in the short term.
Despite Johnson's earlier proclamation to allow Walton time to build a new list of players surrounding the world's four-player player, LeBron James, it is becoming increasingly clear that Walton's job security ultimately depends of his ability to dramatically improve his record of 3-5 to start the season.
The aggressive tone of the Johnson meeting circulated throughout the organization, including the main owner, Jeanie Buss, sources told the league. Throughout his tenure with the Lakers, Johnson has earned an internal reputation for his often unstable management style, including his management of Walton and the coaching staff, sources said.
Buss' support for Walton has remained steadfast since Johnson and his general manager Rob Pelinka assumed command of basketball operations in 2017.
Walton was hired by his brother, Jim Buss, and his former general manager, Mitch Kupchak, less than a year before the arrival of Johnson and Pelinka.
One of the greatest players in the history of the game, Johnson's business interests often push him to get away from the team. Johnson relies on Pelinka to manage daily basketball operations and provide him with reports and analysis.
Those who invested in the Walton Laker group felt a wave of relief when Dallas's frantic comeback failed in the Staples 114-113 win at Staples on Wednesday. Following Johnson's reprimand, the prospect of a series of three consecutive defeats in this weekend's matches, far from Portland and the second of a back against Toronto's booming – were worrisome for the staff, sources told The League.
The slow start of the Lakers includes the absence of two starters, forward Brandon Ingram and goalkeeper Rajon Rondo, at respective suspensions of three and two games. Goalkeeper Lonzo Ball started training camp with a few minutes of restriction following a knee surgery.
The arrival of James' free agent has heightened expectations regarding the list. Upon his release, James has often been in trouble with coaches, including Erik Spolestra of Miami and David Blatt of Cleveland – but there is no evidence that James is disapproved of with Walton. While Blatt's relationship never gained ground, James and Spoelstra formed a partnership that resulted in two NBA titles and four finals.
Until now, James has supported Walton publicly and privately.
In the preseason, Johnson has craved patience for his team and coach. While the Lakers have a talented list of young players surrounding James, a group of limited veteran players struggled to defend themselves.
"While I was talking to Luke (with Pelinka), we said do not worry if we get off to a bad start," Johnson told reporters in September. "We saw that with LeBron going to Miami, and we saw him when he came back to Cleveland, he's going to struggle because there are so many new moving parts." But finally, we let's get it and we will be a very good team. "
One of the topics of discontent among Lakers veterans is the repeated reshuffling of Walton's queues. Nevertheless, James explained Walton's approach to training after Wednesday's win over Dallas.
"I think Luke is trying to figure out what works best," said James. "We knew it would be like that sometime next summer, when Zo had a knee surgery, we knew we were going to change line-up, and obviously we had the unexpected during the suspension. So we had a change of lineup there …
"We will come to a point where we know how comfortable we must be with different queues."
In addition, James is still playing again.
According to research conducted by ESPN Stats & Info, the Lakers have used 93 different lineups in the first seven games of the regular season, behind the Atlanta Hawks' 122.
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