Despite report, Lakers team bus apparently did not leave Luke Walton behind after Pelicans loss
Saturday just wasn’t the Los Angeles Lakers’ day. Despite playing a New Orleans Pelicans team that was without Anthony Davis, the Lakers were run off the court to the point that LeBron James actually questioned his commitment to basketball after the game.
Pelicans guard Jrue Holidy went off for 27 points, while former Laker Julius Randle did plenty of damage with 24 points. The loss pushed the 29-30 Lakers down to 3.5 games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth-best record in the Western Conference. There are 23 games left to play.
To add insult to injury, the Pelicans’ Twitter account expertly trolled the Lakers and Magic Johnson. The night took an interesting turn a few hours later, when head coach Luke Walton seemed to miss the team bus.
What happened with Luke Walton and the Lakers bus?
Per one account at the Smoothie King Center, the Lakers bus had to return to the arena after pulling away without Walton.
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. pic.twitter.com/uy0HX7XYIS
— David M. Grubb (@DMGrubb) February 24, 2019
Given the nature of the loss and Walton’s extremely questionable job status, the Lane Kiffin-style firing jokes almost wrote themselves. However, a clarification from NBC Sports indicated that the team did not accidentally leave Luke Walton behind.
Rather, it was apparently a second team bus picking up Walton.
Contrary to an early story now removed from the NBC's site, Luke Walton did not miss the Lakers bus back to the hotel last night. He was on a later bus.
We apologize for the mistake.
— Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) February 25, 2019
So the good news for Walton is that it looks like the team actually remembered he existed after the Pelicans loss. Unfortunately, that probably won’t help Walton as he faces the hot seat this offseason.
Barring a miraculous turnaround and a promising playoff run, there’s a good chance that the Lakers bus will be without Luke Walton at some point between now and the beginning of the offseason. While Walton is safe for the rest of the season, Walton has reportedly taken fire from Johnson, James and the rest of a Lakers team that still seems on shaky ground after nearly every player on the roster was offered to the Pelicans for Davis. He reportedly has the support of Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss, but that can only go so far.
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