Luke Walton was hired by the Los Angeles Lakers late on Friday night to be their new head coach.
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Luke Walton replaces another former Laker player, Byron Scott, who was sacked after compiling a win-loss record of 38-126 in the two worst seasons in Lakers history. The Lakers went all-in on their next coaching hire, and reportedly (via ESPN) locked up Walton on a five-year deal worth in the neighborhood of $25 million.
Walton’s name became a hot commodity in the market after he became the interim coach of the Golden State Warriors during head coach Steve Kerr’s absence due to complications from a back surgery. He won two championship rings with the Lakers, spending nine of his 10 seasons as a player there and serving as a player development coach for their NBA Development League affiliate for the 2013-14 season.
“Not only do we have to work out the kinks for the players, we have to work out the kinks for the coaches”, remembered Pastner. “But Luke called me about 4 o”clock or so and said, “I”ve got good news and bad news.” I said, “What”s the good news?” He said, “The Lakers offered me the job.” I said, “Well, what”s the bad news?” He said, “I took it.” I said, “You”re right, that is bad news.”. In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News past year, Walton said, “It gave me the bug to coach, but not so much in college”.
Kerr also talked about how differently he looks at things because of the pain he’s had to endure this season and what that means for his long-term coaching future.
Walton stepped in and coached the Warriors to an NBA-record 24-0 start before eventually ceding the job back to Kerr, earning universal accolades for his cool and maturity in a potentially uncomfortable situation. Well, he no longer will be part of Kerr’s coaching staff by next year after the Los Angeles Lakers announced that he will be the team’s next head coach.
“It’s obviously tough to leave this place”, Walton said of the Warriors, “but, you know, I think it’s one of those opportunities you can’t pass up on”.
The Lakers are coming off a franchise-worst 17-65 season, but Walton said he is ready for the challenge.
Like Kerr, Draymond Green had a bittersweet outlook on Walton’s departure from the team. “I’ve seen so many people change with success”. You can’t convince me otherwise. “You’re on your own, pal”. That is such a rare quality, to be unaffected and to stay who you are.
“I knew after meeting with them that they wanted to get something done. That was awesome, and I appreciate it”. He stayed there for a year before helping to coach the D-league team known as the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
Walton, nearly always a reserve player, was a part of the back-to-back National Basketball Association champion Lakers in 2009 and 2010.
We won’t know what free agents the Lakers are actually going after until the summer, but Walton sounding excited about it is enough to promote some optimism about the team’s offseason plans for now.
Klay Thompson said Walton “is going to have a huge impact” with the Lakers and called him “a great leader”.
But the lure of the Lakers is strong to Walton, a second-round pick out of Arizona.
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Barnes will likely have a hard time living up to the max contract he’ll nearly surely be demanding, but as noted in the previously linked article about the Lakers’ rumored pursuit of the two, Ezeli would fit extremely well with what the Lakers need and be a better value for his contract price.
