In a weird way, LaVar Ball’s blasting of Luke Walton — his son Lonzo’s coach with the Los Angeles Lakers — has been a pretty good thing, because it has paved the way for coaches around the NBA to return the favor by pointing out how much of an imbecile the Ball patriarch is.
The most recent case comes from San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, widely known for his oft-hilarious, unabashed candor. So it’s no surprise that when he was asked about LaVar before the Spurs took on the Lakers on Wednesday, he came back with a great answer.
“I think the first thing to look at is the substance and gravitas of the source that speaks,” Popovich said, via ESPN’s Michael C. Wright. “Stopping at that point would tell you you don’t need to listen or go any further. It’s just another fan in the peanut gallery with an opinion, which is meaningless.”
Well put.
By comparison, Popovich was relatively tempered compared to the likes of Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, who called Ball’s comments a disgrace, or Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy, who made a push to deny ESPN access to exclusive interviews because of their coverage of Ball.
Nevertheless, it has been entertaining to see the coaches stand up for Walton, who has had to deal with something most often left behind when a kid (at worst) leaves high school.
