Golden State general manager Bob Myers said last week on the team’s TV pregame show, “Luke is gonna be a head coach someday, but he’s gonna be deliberate about how he goes about it, which is smart”.
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At 36, Walton will become the youngest active coach in the National Basketball Association, surpassing the Phoenix Suns’ Earl Watson, who will turn 37 in June.
The Golden State Warriors will allow assistant coach Luke Walton to interview with the Los Angeles Lakers for their coaching vacancy, now that their first round playoff series is over.
Exact details on Walton’s contract length and his annual salary still remain unknown, but ESPN has reported that it is a multi-year contract.
The post Steve Kerr on “Warriors Plus Minus”: On this trying season, his new perspective, Luke Walton, Phil Jackson and much more appeared first on Talking Points.
“He has all of the intangibles necessary to be an outstanding head coach in this league, including a terrific understanding of the game [and] the ability to communicate with a wide range of people”, Kerr said in a statement. Led Warriors to a 39-4 record to start this season as interim coach while Steve Kerr recovered from back surgery. Walton coolly stepped in and coaching the Warriors to an NBA-record 24-0 start before ceding the job back to Kerr.
As per LA Times, Lakers is also setting its eyes on San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina. Golden State will now have to fill that position for the second-straight season, and there’s a good chance the next guy will become a hot coaching candidate, too.
Walton said he was nervous to call Kerr to give him the news. “I thought Coach Blatt did a great and phenomenal job here”.
The Lakers have missed the play-offs for three consecutive seasons, having ended the 2015-16 campaign with a 17-65 record as Bryant farewelled the game. Walton has played and won championships with the Lakers and he will bring that Warrior’s offense to LA.
The Lakers plan, it seems, was to try and convince Luke Walton 1st.
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He will have tons of young talent in Russell, Clarkson and Randle plus a top draft pick. Bill Walton earlier said his son should stick with the Warriors, and then two days ago said that he shouldn’t take the Lakers job because “head coaching jobs are open for a reason”. He assisted Memphis’ Josh Paster, his former UA teammate, during the NBA’s 2011 labor stoppage, and was a player development coach for the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the D-League during the 2013-14 season.
