A feud between former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott and Lonzo Ball’s father, LaVar Ball, wasn’t really expected to be a component of the team’s season, but when the always-polarizing LaVar is involved, apparently any feud is possible.
LaVar eventually being critical of a Lakers coach was never going to be a shock given his outspoken nature. It just wasn’t expected to be Scott, and initially it wasn’t. The unexpected war of words began when LaVar questioned Luke Walton and the rest of the Lakers’ coaching staff’s handling of Lonzo.
In some part he believed the Lakers were too soft on their rookie point guard, and there was an underlying message the team wasn’t allowing Ball to get into a rhythm during fourth quarters and usage was contributing to shooting struggles.
Scott, no stranger to criticism during his time as Lakers head coach and possibly empathizing with Walton’s plight, fired back, telling LaVar to “shut up” about the way Walton was handling Lonzo’s minutes.
Anyone with even passing interest in the Lakers new LaVar was going to have a response of his own. Nearly one week later, he did so when Scott’s comments were relayed, via TMZ Sports:
“Yeah I got words for Byron Scott, Shut the hell up and do what you do! Leave me alone. “He ain’t doin’ nothing else. Tell him if he want his name in the news, tell him go do something! You ain’t gotta talk about Ball to get your name in the news. But then again, yes you do. Cause ain’t nobody talk about Byron Scott doin’ nothing.”
Considering the personalities involved, Ball’s retort is unlikely to be the last of this exchange. Though, Scott currently resides as an ESPN analyst, and that may influence him to allow cooler heads to prevail.
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