Report: Lonzo Ball More Concerned with Play Than LaVar, Luke Walton Controversy

Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball is reportedly more interested in his play on the court than weighing in on the controversy regarding his father, LaVar, and head coach Luke Walton.  

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com cited a source Monday who said as much, although Shelburne noted, "Privately, there are those in the Lakers organization who have begun to worry about the toll that this tightrope act will take on the 20-year-old point guard if it continues."

The report comes after LaVar said Walton had lost control of the Lakers and was too young to fill the role he is in, per Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com

Lonzo may be focused on establishing himself at the NBA level after the Lakers selected him with the No. 2 overall pick, but it is inevitable he will continue to be asked about his high-profile father as his rookie season progresses.

"I'll play for anybody," he said when asked how he feels about having Walton as L.A.'s head coach, per Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times.

"He's a grown man," Lonzo continued when discussing his father, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com. "Like I said, he is going to say what he wants to say. I can't [do] nothing about it."

LaVar is known for being a controversial figure who doesn't shy away from offering his opinions, but Shelburne noted the Lakers brass met with him before they decided to draft Ball and were given assurances he wouldn't upstage the team.

However, that didn't stop him from calling the coaching staff members "soft" in November and saying they didn't know how to coach his son, per Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.

According to Shelburne, general manager Rob Pelinka and president of basketball operations Magic Johnson again met with LaVar in November and asked him to stop criticizing Walton, albeit to no avail given these latest comments.

The controversy has even extended beyond the Lakers' walls considering Sam Amico of AmicoHoops reported some NBA coaches want the credentials of writers who interview LaVar to be revoked.

Lonzo isn't the only one more focused on his own development, though, as Walton told Ganguli his "only concern with any of it is for Zo."

The rookie has struggled shooting the ball through his first 33 games, hitting just 35.3 percent of his field-goal attempts and 30.5 percent of his threes, but he has solid numbers otherwise with per-game averages of 10.2 points, 7.0 assists, 6.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals.

His continued development figures to be an important step in Los Angeles' rebuild.