Report: Some execs believe Lakers eyeing Fizdale to replace Walton

The Los Angeles Lakers' failure to publicly back head coach Luke Walton in the wake of the latest LaVar Ball fiasco has tongues wagging inside and outside the NBA. And some in the league's hierarchy believe it's evidence the Lakers will ultimately dismiss Walton and replace him with David Fizdale.

"I got executives in my ear, I got agents in my ear, saying, 'Oh yeah, they're probably going to hire David Fizdale'", ESPN's Brian Windhorst told The Rich Eisen Show Friday.

After Ball said last weekend that the Lakers - including his son Lonzo - had checked out on Walton, the organization did not shoot the story down. While rookie Kyle Kuzma came to Walton's defense, nothing was heard from the team's brain trust of Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka. Lonzo himself offered a tepid "I'll play for anybody."

Fizdale casts an interesting figure as a free-agent bench boss. Fired by the Memphis Grizzlies in November, the 43-year-old L.A. native has a reputation as a player's coach with friends throughout the league. In fact, LeBron James - an expected free agency target of the Lakers - is close with Fizdale from his time as a Miami Heat assistant.

The last public endorsement of Walton from the Lakers came from president Jeanie Buss, who tweeted "In Luke we trust" on New Year's Eve, before the recent controversy.