Walton shuts out LaVar: We're not interested in parents' opinions
Luke Walton isn't interested in what LaVar Ball has to say.
The Los Angeles Lakers' head coach has come under increasing fire from the outspoken father recently, including Wednesday, when Ball Sr. chastised Walton for a purported mismanaging of son Lonzo's fourth-quarter minutes. Those comments, of course, came two weeks after LaVar also suggested Walton didn't know how to coach the rookie point guard, though Walton asserts Ball's complaints are falling on deaf ears.
"We don’t take parents' opinions into our coaching decisions and how we're trying to grow as a group," Walton told the Orange County Register's Bill Oram. "The relationship with Lonzo means a lot to me, so I stay in constant contact with him and how he's doing.
"But as far as other people's thoughts on what we should do, I don't concern myself with those."
The Lakers organization has taken steps to limit Ball's exposure at the Staples Center, including enforcing a rule banning media from interviewing guests of players after games.
Though Ball himself approved of the added measure, he expressed some doubts about its effectiveness.
"It's a good rule but I ain't gonna never shut up, so we'll see if the rule works or not," he said Tuesday.