Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich seems to always know exactly what to say. He shared more of his wisdom while talking about rookie Lonzo Ball’s father, LaVar Ball, criticizing Lakers head coach Luke Walton.
Last weekend, Ball told ESPN that he believes Walton is too young to be a coach and that the Lakers “don’t want to play for him.” Instead of going after the outlet that published those comments like some other NBA coaches have, Popovich explained how Ball is “just another fan in the peanut gallery” and said that Walton is “way more than ready to handle this situation.”
Popovich said, per ESPN’s Michael C. Wright:
“Whenever anyone says anything about another individual or about the quality of another individual, or what they’re doing, I think the first thing to look at is the substance and gravitas of the source that speaks. Just stopping at that point would tell you that 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.
“Luke [Walton] has been schooled in this game from the time he was a little kid. And he doesn’t even know what he knows probably, just by osmosis, whether it was living at home, [or] in school as a player. He’s had tremendous experience. As a player, he wasn’t the best athlete in the world. But those are the guys that sometimes understand the game better because it comes a little tougher to them. They understand what wins and loses, what they have to do to get an advantage and really understand the game, which he does. He inherently understands the game, and not everybody does. And then the icing on the cake, he gets to spend a few years up with Steve [Kerr] at Golden State with a great organization, and a great group.
“So, he’s way more than ready to handle this situation. But it’s a situation that’s gonna take time. It’s a process. And it certainly doesn’t need any outside chatter from people who don’t have a clue and haven’t gotten over themselves.”