Magic Johnson And Jeanie Buss Finally Publicly Back Luke Walton

Luke Walton has finally gotten a public show of support from the Los Angeles Lakers front office. Owner Jeanie Buss and team president Magic Johnson both tweeted their support for the Lakers head coach on Saturday.

First, Buss sent the following tweet:

Then, after the Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks in overtime to secure their fourth-straight win, Johnson posted the following:

Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma was a fan of Magic’s tweet:

After LaVar Ball claimed Walton had lost the team and that none of the Lakers wanted to play for him, the organization’s brass was notably silent. Meanwhile rumors circulated that the team was considering replacing Walton with David Fizdale.

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne shut down the Fizdale speculation on Saturday:

Frankly, the Lakers probably hadn’t said anything because they didn’t want to respond to a player’s dad’s comments.

The Lakers would be idiots to fire Walton after two seasons with an absurdly young roster. He’s a high-upside coach building something with a young roster that has dramatically improved since last season. The record will likely reflect the improvement by the end of the season as the team continues to improve.

Yes, LA’s recent nine-game losing streak was awful, but they were also missing Lonzo Ball for six of those games. The team is so much better when he’s on the floor, even when the numbers don’t show it.

Walton signed up for a long-term rebuilding project when he took the job in 2016. He deserves time to make it work.