Magic Johnson says Lakers’ Head Coach Luke Walton Won’t be Fired

Magic Johnson. Photo by Matt Baron/REX/Shutterstock (5737619el)

Despite getting LeBron James in the offseason, Los Angeles Lakers are struggling at the beginning of 2018-19 NBA season and have now fallen to a 4-6 record after 107-121 defeat against Toronto Raptors. While this put pressure on the Lakers’ head coach Luke Walton, it turns out that the 38-year-old doesn’t have to worry about his job.

Los Angeles’ president of basketball operations Magic Johnson told reporters on Sunday night Walton won’t be fired even though the team has been playing poorly.

Yeah, we’re not going to fire him,” – Johnson told ESPN. “[The meeting last week with Walton] wasn’t even a meeting about that. We just have to be better, and that was it.

Johnson also discussed Luke Walton’s job security with the Los Angeles Times recently.

“He’s going to finish the season,” – he told Times. “Unless something drastic happens, which it won’t.

Luke Walton, who took over the Los Angeles Lakers in 2016, is still to prove that he has what it takes to be a successful NBA coach. In his first two seasons with the team, Walton posted a 61-103 record, but the front office tolerated this considering the fact that the Lakers were undergoing a rebuild.

Now as the rebuilding process is almost over, the team might not be so forgiving to Walton, despite what Johnson says. Although Lakers didn’t intend to be NBA Championship contenders right away, the team was looking to get in the NBA Playoffs this year, and he would have to deliver on this if he wants to keep his job.

Gunner's favorite movies are Pulp Fiction, Iron Man (just the first one), and every James Bond film ever made. He's learning TV and cinema and hoping to always enjoy movies as he does now.