When the Los Angeles Lakers signed LeBron James in free agency, it indirectly put a significant amount of pressure and attention on head coach Luke Walton. Fair or not, James has developed a reputation of being the reason coaches have lost their job.
Add to it that Walton was not selected by the current Lakers front office, and it was reasonable to expect he’d face a heavy dose of scrutiny this season. That became a reality as the Lakers struggled out of the gate.
Their flawed roster exposed issues and suspensions exacerbated them, but it was Walton who took the brunt of the blame.