Matt Barnes spent two of his 14 NBA seasons with the Lakers and joined The Herd this week to talk about the impact of the arrival of LeBron, and the recent flurry of undermining antics from LaVar Ball that continue to create headaches for Magic Johnson.
A recent report indicated that the Ball camp leaked the news that Lonzo underwent minor knee surgery in an attempt to sabotage his trade value in a potential Kawhi Leonard deal. And after going dormant in Lithuania for most of the year, LaVar has returned to his old schtick of unleashing inflammatory soundbites, including calling Rajon Rondo the ‘little backup.’
Given that the Lakers are now all in on LeBron, dealing Lonzo has become a very real possibility with the additions of Lance Stephenson, and Rondo. Plus, it could permanently get the Ball circus out of L.A. and eliminate the noise.
Barnes played on Kobe’s Lakers, and says there’s nothing else like it in the NBA, given the history and tradition of the organization. He thinks Magic believes in Lonzo as a player, but may have to cut the cord to get rid of the LaVar distraction.
Maybe LaVar doesn’t realize that mouth is kneecapping his son’s professional career. Or maybe he does and just doesn’t care. But these are LeBron’s Lakers now, and if he’d rather be on the floor with ‘a little backup’ instead of Lonzo, it’s time to start packin.