Michael Beasley statement adds to Los Angeles Lakers' drama

The multi-faceted soap opera surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers does not appear to be ending anytime soon. 

Following Saturday's loss to the Golden State Warriors, reports emerged that members of the Lakers were involved in a heated exchange with head coach Luke Walton. 

On Tuesday, forward Michael Beasley issued a statement to Yahoo!, writing: “This past Saturday after the Warriors game, Coach Walton and our team had a conversation after a tough loss. Despite reports to the contrary, there was nothing physical between Coach Walton, me, or any other teammate. I’ve sat back in the past when stories have been twisted and misreported, but I won’t do that this time. I respect Luke and I respect this team. We are trying to win a championship together.”

The statement was odd in one respect: Seemingly no major media outlet had actually reported that the scene had turned physical. 

Shams Charania of The Athletic was the first to report the discord. Via his sources, Charania described things as "an emotionally-charged verbal exchange" and "heated scene" but noted "it stopped short of turning physical." 

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ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and the Los Angeles Times' Tania Ganguli were also told that things stopped short of turning physical, and in fact were told the conversation was not even as heated as initially reported.

It's uncertain exactly who Beasley was addressing with his statement, but the fact that he released anything three days after the alleged incident only adds more fuel to the drama fire. 

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In the same Yahoo! piece, Lakers big man JaVale McGee denied his alleged involvement in whatever exchange took place Saturday. He characterized those reports as "fake news."