LaVar Ball says Lakers ‘don’t know how to coach’ his son Lonzo

LaVar Ball doesn’t believe that his son, Lonzo, is being coached correctly on the Los Angeles Lakers. And since LaVar Ball believes many things, this shouldn’t be a real surprise.

“They’re soft. They don’t know how to coach my son. I know how to coach him,” LaVar Ball told Bleacher Report. “I tell him to go get the victory. Stop messing around.”

On Sunday, Ball recorded his second career triple-double — 11 points, 11 assists, and 16 rebounds. The Lakers’ starting point guard and second-overall pick is still shooting only 31.3 percent from the field, however, and he has taken more shots than scored points in all but three of his games.

When LaVar Ball was asked if he had a problem with Lakers head coach Luke Walton, he demurred: “No, I have a problem with losing.”

Walton has spoken about moral victories and believes that the Lakers are taking the long road to success both as a team and with Lonzo Ball. The Lakers are 7-10 in a difficult Western Conference, but LaVar Ball doesn’t seem to think that’s good enough and shuns Walton’s more passive approach to coaching. From the Bleacher Report story:

“What I mean by babying [Lonzo], ‘He’ll figure it out,’” Ball said. “It ain’t about that. ‘Be patient with him?’ Ain’t no patience if you’re winning.”

“They’re letting it go too easy, saying they’re a young team,” he continued. “Forget about that! Put the [onus] on them. Say, ‘You guys need to win. You’ve got enough talent. Win some games.’”

Some of LaVar Ball’s advice actually borderlines on coherent: he said his son plays better when he’s rebounding, something that Lonzo Ball said the Lakers’ coaching staff also told him.

Otherwise, it seems like LaVar Ball’s advice for his son and the Lakers is simple. He wants Lonzo Ball to play better, and he wants Los Angeles to win more. It’d be hard to find any Lakers fan who wouldn’t agree with that incredibly sound, next-level basketball strategy.