Luke Walton (Photo : Doug Pensinger | Getty Images Sport)
The Los Angeles Lakers are predicted to make a coaching change despite all the denials from the team.
Practically all the fans of the Lakers are not pleased with how former Laker Byron Scott handled the team, and it's not just about the 17-65 record, it was also about not being able to develop the team's young players. Still, there were statements of support by Jeanie Buss, one of team's owners.
The Lakers legion continued to speculate and one of their more obvious targets is Luke Walton, the Golden State Warriors assistant who also served as head coach when Steve Kerr was out. His record was an unbelievable 39-4, even better than Kerr's record when he returned.
Walton was a former Laker himself, one of Kobe Bryant's closest teammates. Thus, it seems like a no-brainer to pursue him for the job.
However, this may be a mistake. There are strong reasons why the Lakers should not bother to pursue Walton this offseason-a pivotal one that could dictate the team's direction in the next few years.
In an article on LA Sports Hub, Keith Rivas noted that Walton may not actually be available and that the Lakers may simply be wasting their time.
Rivas noted that "the last thing the Lakers need is to get hyped up about something that will only disappoint them." This is because Walton has reportedly flat out refused the coaching job in New York Knicks, offered by no less than Phil Jackson, Walton's former coach with the Lakers.
The article implied that there the Knicks coaching job would have more advantages (for one thing, they don't share the same conference as Golden State) and Walton is perceived as a stalwart of the triangle offense (as a player, at least).
But the article also questioned Walton's abilities, or at least whether he's ready to become a head coach citing "that the players on the team, not the coach, were the reason for the success."
This is also the same question that FTW asked: is Luke Walton ready to take full rein of a team like the Lakers?
The argument is that Walton actually had a better record than Steve Kerr himself. Kerr led his team to 34-5 record. But it should be noted that the Warriors schedule was much more difficult in the second half of the season with multiple clashes against the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.
FTW also cites Walton's youth-he's younger than Kobe Bryant at 36 years old. Also, Walton has been an assistant only with the Warriors and no other team. His success may be driven by his complete and untainted focus on Golden State.
There are many intangibles that a coach should establish and one of them is to build the camaraderie on the team. That was a given with the Warriors but can he promote that with a team like the Lakers?
Finally, there are also other options for the Lakers. Scott Brooks has NBA Finals experience and has proved to be an ace in developing players, and there is also Jeff Hornacek, formerly of the Phoenix Suns who was runner-up for Coach of the Year honors on his debut.
