Kyle Kuzma Defends Luke Walton Amid LaVar Ball's Criticism of Lakers HC

Los Angeles Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma threw his support behind head coach Luke Walton after LaVar Ball asserted Walton was losing the team.

"Luke is my guy. I love playing for him," Kuzma said Monday, per the Los Angeles Times' Tania Ganguli. "... We just gotta stay locked in as a family and listen to the people that matter in our basketball lives. ... We stand by Luke. I know the front office does."

Ball created a firestorm for the Lakers and his son Lonzo when he aired his grievances with Walton's handling of the team to ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman:

"That's a good team. 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."

Lonzo Ball responded by saying he'll "play for anybody" and "[doesn't] decide who coaches, according to ESPN.com's Ohm Youngmisuk. Walton added he believes his players are "100 percent behind and supporting what we're doing."

Walton also made light of the situation after the Lakers' 132-113 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night. He told reporters he had removed Lonzo from the game because LaVar "was talking s--t," per Youngmisuk (warning: video contains profanity):

LaVar's comments to Goodman represented virtually the worst-case scenario for the Lakers when they selected Lonzo with the second overall pick in the 2017 draft.

LaVar has never been shy about voicing his opinion in the past, which is fine when he's trying to elevate Big Baller Brand or promote one of his sons. It's another thing when LaVar is openly critical of the Lakers or Walton.

Now, not only does Lonzo have to navigate through an underwhelming rookie season, but he also has to help quell a controversy his dad created.