LaVar blames Lonzo's injury woes on Lakers' 'bulls--- training'
Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball had an excellent, well-rounded rookie season. Though, his debut season in the Association was marred by MCL and shoulder problems that forced him to sit out 30 games.
Unsurprisingly, Lonzo's father, LaVar Ball, expressed his displeasure with the organization's handling of his eldest son's injury troubles. Much of his blame, however, seemed to be directed at Lakers head trainer Gunnar Peterson in particular.
"My expectation for Lonzo is for him to be twice as good as he was this year, and to be more healthy," LaVar said, according to Bryan Kalbrosky of Hoopshype. "He understands, he went through it. If you're going to be doing those (workouts with) rubberbands like that dude Gunnar has him doing, that (is) bulls--- training. That's what I call it. S---, he wasn't like that when I brought him over there. When he first came (to the Lakers), he never got hurt. He was never hurt."
Peterson made his name as a celebrity trainer in Los Angeles, working with Kim Kardashian, Sylvester Stallone, and Jennifer Lopez among others. He was hired by Magic Johnson in 2017 as part of a major regime change to reset the Lakers franchise.
LaVar is unabashedly protective of his three sons - Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo - and has repeatedly announced he expects all three to join the Lakers together as soon as the latter two reach the league.
Lonzo averaged 10.2 points, 6.9 boards, and 7.2 assists in 52 games, earning a spot on the 2018 NBA All-Rookie second team.