Lakers Notes: Buss, Walton, Ball, Offseason

Appearing as a guest on the Sports Business Radio Road Show on Tuesday, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss was noncommittal when asked about head coach Luke Walton‘s future, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com details.

“I’m not going to give you the answer to that question,” Buss replied when asked about the possibility of Walton staying on as the Lakers’ coach.

Buss has long been considered one of Walton’s biggest supporters, and praised him again during her latest podcast appearance, suggesting that he has “done an incredible job under a lot of challenging circumstances.” However, the decision on Walton’s future will likely be made by president of basketball operations Magic Johnson, writes McMenamin.

“In terms of basketball decisions, I will always defer to Magic,” Buss said. “He’s brought a vision of the kind of team we’re going to build and a vision of what Lakers basketball is going to be. And I think you can see that. But we’re still building that roster that will get us there.”

Let’s round up a few more Lakers notes…

  • Here’s more from Buss – via McMenamin – on her relationship with Johnson, as well as the Lakers’ future: “We’re as tight as any two people, any two executives. And we have a mission and a purpose of what we want to do, and we’re not done yet. But I think we’re going in the right direction.”
  • Lakers guard Lonzo Ball has filed a lawsuit against Alan Foster, the former co-founder and manager of Big Baller Brand, for damages of more than $2MM, plus interest, reports ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. The suit alleges that Foster embezzled millions of dollars from the company for his personal use.
  • Sean Deveney of Sporting News previews the Lakers’ upcoming offseason, exploring a familiar question: Will the team be able to find a star player to pair with LeBron James?
  • For more on the Lakers, be sure to check out their Hoops Rumors team page.
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