Lakers News: LeBron James Calls Luke Walton 'Consistent' Amid LA's Struggles

Despite the Los Angeles Lakers' struggles this season, LeBron James continues to defend head coach Luke Walton.

"One thing that's been consistent is the voice of our head coach," James said Wednesday, per Matthew Moreno of Lakers Nation. "Throughout all the injuries, he's been the one that's remained the same and consistent throughout the whole year."

Los Angeles has lost its last three games to fall to 30-34 on the season, 5.5 games out of a playoff spot entering Wednesday.

Walton has received a lot of criticism from outside the organization during the team's struggles. The squad was expected to contend for an NBA title after adding James in the offseason, but now just making the playoffs seems like a long shot.

The coach's inability to keep the team afloat is also likely to cost him his job.

"The prevailing assumption in league coaching circles remains that Walton will almost certainly be dismissed after the season," Marc Stein of the New York Times reported earlier this week.

Earlier reporting said that James also wanted a new coach.

"LeBron's camp would prefer a coaching change," ESPN's Jackie MacMullan said in January (via Chris Bengel of CBS Sports). "They're not too subtle about that."

It seems the star player now at least openly supports his coach, even with the team's struggles.

Considering the Lakers are only 91-137 through parts of three seasons under Walton, however, a change this offseason wouldn't be surprising.