NBA notebook: Lakers' Buss, Johnson back Walton

On Saturday, Buss posted a photo of herself, general manager Rob Pelinka and
Walton sitting together at a restaurant table while tweeting that she was on
her way to Memphis for this weekend's Martin Luther King Jr. events
surrounding the Lakers-Grizzlies game on Monday.

"On my way to #Memphis for #Lakers game. Dinner with Rob and Luke tomorrow
night. Barbecue!! @Lakers #InLukeWeTrust," Buss tweeted.

A few hours later, Johnson tweeted: "So proud of my @Lakers players and Coach
Walton for winning their 4th game in a row against the Mavericks," and then:
"Coach Luke Walton has the @Lakers playing some of their best basketball of
the season right now."

Sources told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne that Buss became concerned that the
situation was escalating after rumors connecting the team to former Grizzlies
coach David Fizdale surfaced Friday. Buss wants to reassure Walton of the
team's commitment to him as coach now and in the future, according to ESPN.

LaVar Ball, the father of Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball, told ESPN last
Saturday that the players "don't want to play for" Walton. Since LaVar Ball's
comments, the Lakers (15-27) have now stretched their season-best winning
streak to four games after a 107-101 overtime victory over the Dallas
Mavericks on Saturday.

--Utah Jazz swingman Thabo Sefolosha is expected to undergo surgery to repair
his MCL and miss at least six months after leaving Friday night's game in
Charlotte with a right knee injury, according to multiple reports.

Sefolosha did some work on the sidelines Friday night before being ruled out
with what the team called a right knee sprain.

The 33-year-old is averaging 8.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals across 38
appearances in his 12th NBA season, his first in Utah.

--The Dallas Mavericks signed guard Kyle Collinsworth to a 10-day contract,
the team announced.

Collinsworth signed a two-way contract with Dallas on Dec. 19, but the
6-foot-6, 210-pound native of Provo, Utah was waived by the team on Jan. 10.
He has appeared in four games for the Mavericks this season, averaging 1.0
points and 0.5 rebounds in 5.8 minutes per game.

Collinsworth went undrafted out of BYU in 2016, and has spent the past two
seasons with the Mavericks' G League affiliate, the Texas Legends. He has
averaged 11.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.7 steals in 35.8 minutes
in 18 games this season.

--Field Level Media