Unnamed Laker spoke to Lonzo about turning back on teammates

Someone on the Los Angeles Lakers spoke with Lonzo Ball regarding his inability to defend his teammates in a scrum that broke out in Friday's loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Ball dismissed it as a non-issue, saying "people ain't really trying to fight" and he "wasn't trying to get no tech," but it was clearly an issue in the locker room once the play went viral.

Lakers coach Luke Walton confirmed after Saturday's practice that someone on the team spoke with Ball about the error of his ways.

"Someone on our team talked with him," Walton told Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. "It's all part of the learning process."

Public opinion on Ball's apathy was split. On one hand, he made a smart decision by walking away and avoiding a technical. But on the other hand, Ball's failure to defend his teammates just in case someone did overreact was careless.

The Lakers addressed it internally, and Walton said his rookie point guard still has the support of everyone in the locker room.

"I don't really care about how that looks because our guys love Zo. He's one of the few rookies I've ever seen that everybody is just kind of drawn toward him. Everyone really wants him to succeed. They all love playing with his group, whether it's practice or the game," Walton said.

"I think they all know what that looked like isn't what Zo is about and isn't symbolizing what his feelings are on that type of situation. I know the general public and the internet world likes to do what they do."