NBCA Calls LaVar Ball ESPN Interview 'Salacious,' Says It Lacked Integrity

The National Basketball Coaches Association released a statement Monday that harshly criticizes an ESPN.com report in which LaVar Ball says Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton "doesn't have control of the team no more."

"Yesterday's article by Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com regarding Luke Walton was a salacious one-sided story lacking journalistic integrity," the statement read. "The article attacked Coach Walton on the basis of one person's unsubstantiated opinion. The story failed to provide quotes or perspectives from any players, or from Lakers management, either named or unnamed, verifying the claims made in the story. The article lacks any of the basic fundamental benchmarks and standards of reliable journalism. It is reprehensible and insulting both to our Coaches and to the standards of ESPN."

Ball, the father of Lakers guard Lonzo Ball, ripped Walton throughout the interview and said he does not connect with the team.

"You can see they're not playing for Luke no more," Ball said of the Lakers, who had suffered nine straight losses at the time. "Luke doesn't have control of the team no more. They don't want to play for him."

"That's a good team," he added. "Nobody wants to play for him. I can see it. No high-fives when they come out of the game. People don't know why they're in the game. He's too young. He's too young. ... He ain't connecting with them anymore. You can look at every player, he's not connecting with not one player."

The NBCA said it was irresponsible for ESPN to publish the report because it is a league partner.

"It is regrettable and troubling that ESPN was willing to provide a megaphone for a player's parent anytime he wishes to share his personal opinion," the statement read. "While the Coaches Association does not believe NBA Coaches should be immune from criticism, the NBCA demands that ESPN, and our other network partners, work harder to ensure a more objective and balanced account in their coverage."

Lonzo Ball, for his part, said he does not believe Walton has lost the Lakers locker room. "I mean, he's our head coach," Ball told reporters. "We are going to play for him."

Regarding his father, Ball said: "He is going to speak his mind. He is not going to change. ... That is just his opinion. He has coached me his whole life. So he is definitely going to have a strong opinion about it. That's just what it is."

The Lakers responded to the controversy with a 132-113 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. Walton responded to a line of questioning about Lonzo's playing time by joking he took him out early because "his dad was talking s--t."