Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton has been fined for not leaving the court in a timely manner after being ejected during a game against the Kings.
Luke Walton has been doing an exceptional job during his first season as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. He has the young talent roster competing well despite some injuries and they look vastly improved overall.
Walton even got to try his hand at getting ejected against the Sacramento Kings on Monday night. After the game was only a few minutes into the action, Walton was heated with the officiating crew and used some colorful language to let his feelings be known. He was ejected from the game and according to David Aldridge, the league has announced that they have fined him for not leaving in a timely manner.
League announces Lakers' Luke Walton fined $15K for verbally abusing game official/not leaving the court in a timely manner after ejection.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) December 14, 2016
After he was ejected, Walton proceeded to stay on the floor to make sure the referees got an earful and knew how dissatisfied he was. He was restrained by his players and eventually went back to the lockers while removing his suit jacket.
Walton had his chance at learning how to become a head coach last season as an interim for the Golden State Warriors and it is clear he has brought many lessons over with him. He’s now learning that sometimes coaches have to pay a nice little donation to the league as well.
Sometimes an ejection is warranted for a coach in hopes of waking the team up. While the Lakers lost yet again and their losing streak continued, it was probably just one of many ejections for Walton if he continues to grow as a coach in the NBA.