Lakers Bus Reportedly Left Without Luke Walton After Loss to Pelicans

Chris Szagola/Associated Press

The Los Angeles Lakers were supposed to be a team that would one day challenge the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference after they signed LeBron James this past offseason.

Instead, they’ve devolved into a team that can’t even remember to bring its own coach along on the postgame bus ride.

As David M. Grubb of Crescent City Sports shared on Twitter, the Lakers’ team bus left without head coach Luke Walton and had to come back for him following Saturday’s 128-115 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Arena:

David M. Grubb @DMGrubb

So this was interesting. I was talking to some SKC staffers I know as the Lakers’ team bus is pulling off. Suddenly, Luke Walton comes around the corner. Bus gone. It had to come back for the coach. Damn shame. https://t.co/uy0HX7XYIS

This is the latest in a series of unfortunate headlines for Walton this season. In November, Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com reported Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson “admonished” him, while Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported earlier this month there was a “heated scene” between the coach and multiple veterans after a loss against the Warriors.

James also may not be Walton’s biggest fan, as ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan said on the Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective podcast (h/t Chicco Nacion of theScore) in January: “It’s clear to me, and probably to you, Brian, that LeBron’s camp would prefer a coaching change—they’re not too subtle about that. Not LeBron, but all the people around LeBron. There’s plenty of them and they’ve made it known.”

For now, Walton is still the coach, and the Lakers remain on the outside of the playoff picture looking in as the 10th seed in the West. They are 3.5 games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 8 seed and two games behind the ninth-seeded Sacramento Kings.    

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