It’s no question that the Lakers 2018-19 season was a failure across many fronts. From a roster that was mismanaged to teammates new to one another to injuries aplenty, the season was a disaster from start to finish.
LaVar Ball, though, has kept his finger pointed at one person throughout as to why the season went awry and, thus, his son Lonzo was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. Luke Walton has remained the recipient of LaVar’s criticism, even in recent days and weeks, despite that season and Lonzo’s tenure in Los Angeles long in the past.
During a podcast interview with Complex’s Load Management, LaVar criticized Walton for not playing Ball and James more together, thus leading to a trade.
“If he would have played with LeBron and they let him play with LeBron, he would have still been there. They did that one and both got a triple-double. Luke (Walton) said ‘Too much success. Leave that alone. We won’t do that again.’”
Of the 1,423 minutes Ball played in the 2018-19 season, 821 of those were with James. The two had a modest 2.5 net rating on the court together in those minutes.
The only player Ball shared the court with more that season was Kyle Kuzma, who played 1,147 minutes with his 2017 NBA Draft classmate. And of teammates Ball played at least 150 minutes with, only Zubac had a better net rating with him than James.
So, while Ball and James had modest success, they also played the lion’s share of Ball’s minutes together. They certainly could have played together more, but injuries were the main contributing factor in Ball not seeing more time on the court with James.
Ironically, on the night Ball and James each notched a triple-double against the Hornets, the pair played just 25 minutes together, barely more than half the game, further discrediting LaVar’s claims.
In the end, Lonzo and the rest of the young Lakers had a one-year audition to prove they should remain a Laker and largely failed, even if it was due to injuries. Given how everything played out for both the Lakers and Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and the Pelicans, it’s hard to believe either side is displeased with the result.