Written By: Scott Bilo
There has not been any issue reading the intent on Magic Johnson to make a play to remove Luke Walton. That has been an ongoing battle since day one of Magic's tenure in Laker Land. Now it would appear that LeBron James (shockingly...see cynical) and his camp have lumped themselves onto that wagon as well. LeBron has never been shy about going for blood against his coaches in the past, and while he has sometimes succeeded in removing a coach that he was not fond of, he has also failed at times as well. In this case, it's simply an alliance of resources between Magic and LeBron against the fortress of support for Walton built by the owner of the franchise, Jeannie Buss, who seems to win high stakes battles as a hobby.
Buss is steadfast in her support of Walton, and has resisted the push by Magic (who also had a history of pushing out coaches as a player) to remove Walton at all costs. This is probably a smart move on the part of Buss, as Walton has kept the Lakers in a playoff push for the 8th spot despite lingering injuries to James and Rajon Rondo. The reality is stark and simple. LeBron is old. He may not see the end of his current contract as a player with the Lakers, and that is the honest truth. His body is showing signs of breaking down, he has a reputation of being toxic to work with to some stars in the league, and his ability to sway stars to the franchise has been, well, less than overwhelming. Of course, the Anthony Davis situation changes some of that if it works in the favor of LA, but short of that, these things ring true.
Magic also hardly has a stellar resume as an executive in the league who understands anything closely resembling nuance. He has already walked a very fine line regarding tampering, and has fallen over the line on multiple occasions already, and may do so again in the hunt for Davis. If he doesn't fall over that line, LeBron may surely do so all by himself, and likely already has. If LeBron and Magic cannot herd the kind of talent and return to glory that was promised when they were brought on board, then why pay heed to their wants regarding Walton?
This post is hardly a testament to my love for Walton as a coach. It is not. What it is, is an example of how pragmatism should win out in this scenario. Walton has done, in my opinion, a good job of holding the mess that has been the Lakers together. The internal strife is not new here, as Jeannie Buss will tell you. At the end of the day, however, Buss is pragmatic enough to realize that Magic has an iffy track record, and she can win with him in the front office, or without, and this is a battle that neither Magic, nor LeBron should win here. If Buss decides to move on from Walton, it should be for her own reasons, and her own only. If she caves here, she loses more than he coach, she loses her reputation around the league in that she does not have the steel to stand up for what her vision is, and that damages this franchise more than it already has been. The message will be clear that there is no true control of this franchise, and malcontents are running the ship. This is a message that you cannot sell to the fans, to potential free agents, or to execs that you try to recruit to the cause, should Buss tire of Magic and LeBron's shenanigans down the road.
There is only one clear choice here for Buss...stay the course.
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