Report: Magic 'admonished' LaVar via associate after Walton comments

The Los Angeles Lakers apparently weren't all quiet when LaVar Ball publicly blasted head coach Luke Walton.

In early January, Ball - whose eldest son, Lonzo, plays for the Lakers - ripped Walton from Lithuania, saying that the Lakers didn't want to play for the 37-year-old bench boss.

While Los Angeles' front office never responded directly to Ball's comments, president of basketball operations Magic Johnson called an associate of Ball and "strongly admonished" the outspoken father, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reports.

Johnson didn't confirm if he called Ball, but did explain why the historic franchise didn't speak up publicly.

"Look, we had lost nine in a row and you didn't hear nothing from me, right? I was supporting Luke through all nine in a row," Johnson told Shelburne. "So now, LaVar comes out and says something, and everybody asks, 'Why didn't you say nothing?'

"I'm not gonna respond to people saying different things. (Walton) already had my vote of confidence. There's never been a question about his job security here. But everybody else was trying to make a big deal out of it. I was good with Luke, I was good with (Lakers owner) Jeanie (Buss). So I said we should do nothing because if we react to this, now anytime somebody says something about the Lakers, we gotta react."

Eventually, though, Walton received public backing from his employers.

When rumors began to circulate later in the month that Los Angeles was reportedly eyeing David Fizdale to replace Walton, Buss tweeted a photo with Walton that included the hashtag "InLukeWeTrust." Johnson also chimed in with his support later in the day, adding the Lakers were playing "some of their best basketball" under Walton.