Luke Walton Not Qualified To Coach Lakers

[John Stellman]

Maybe I'm alone on this one, but 36-year old Luke Walton's first permanent head coaching job should NOT be with the Lakers. His credentials? An assistant with the University of Memphis during the 2011 lockout, player development coach with Defenders and two years as an assistant with Golden State. I'll give you that he started the season with a record 24 straight wins, and had a 39-4 record when Steve Kerr returned. But any marquee free agent will want to play for a veteran coach who has experience and has been successful.  The Lakers could have hired Tom Thibodeau or Scott Brooks who both carry impressive resumes. Former coaches Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson were also available. So they selected Walton, and that may very well turn out to be a disaster. 

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

There's a Lakers thread in this forum where anything and everything Lakers has been discussed for a few years.  That said the Lakers couldn't have hired Thibodeau since he was hired by Minnesota on 4/21/16 and they let Byron Scott go on 4/25/16.  Thibodeau also wanted control and is the president of basketball operations in Minnesota which isn't something he was going to get with the Lakers.  Brooks signed with Washington on 4/26/16 so again given when Scott was let go it seems the Lakers would have been late to the party had they wanted him.  All that aside the Lakers have been a disaster for a few years now and need a lot of things to go right in the next few years to even have a chance at making the playoffs.  Walton is a low risk signing because if he doesn't work out they can blame it on his lack of experience.  If it does work out and he helps rebuild the Lakers it's a great move because you get a guy who could be coach for years to come for one of the top two franchises in NBA history.  He can relate to the younger players more than Scott could and I don't expect next year to be as bad as either of the last two.  

 

 

[Ray McKigney]

18 minutes ago, Catwhoshatinthehat said:

There's a Lakers thread in this forum where anything and everything Lakers has been discussed for a few years.  That said the Lakers couldn't have hired Thibodeau since he was hired by Minnesota on 4/21/16 and they let Byron Scott go on 4/25/16.  Thibodeau also wanted control and is the president of basketball operations in Minnesota which isn't something he was going to get with the Lakers.  Brooks signed with Washington on 4/26/16 so again given when Scott was let go it seems the Lakers would have been late to the party had they wanted him.  All that aside the Lakers have been a disaster for a few years now and need a lot of things to go right in the next few years to even have a chance at making the playoffs.  Walton is a low risk signing because if he doesn't work out they can blame it on his lack of experience.  If it does work out and he helps rebuild the Lakers it's a great move because you get a guy who could be coach for years to come for one of the top two franchises in NBA history.  He can relate to the younger players more than Scott could and I don't expect next year to be as bad as either of the last two.  

 

 

I think this is the most important aspect. The team's young. They don't need some dinosaur like Van Gundy telling them what to do.

[Angel Oracle]

Sometimes, retread coaches can be disasters too.

Has Thibodeaux really accomplished that much as a head coach?   He was a great defensive mind in Boston as the head asst coach, and that to me is his main calling.    Van Gundy?   Jackson?   Recycles!

[nate]

This is Steve Kerr's third year as a NBA head coach and he is playing for his second NBA title.  Rookie coaches can be good

[NrM]

Wut. I'll take his resume and what former and current colleagues and teammates have said. This was the perfect hire. 

 

 

[Pujols4MVP]

His 1st year as permanent head coach will be as a #Tank Commander for at least another year.

[NrM]

4 hours ago, Scioscia4MVP said:

His 1st year as permanent head coach will be as a #Tank Commander for at least another year.

Nah. They wont be tanking. 30-40 wins next year. Maybe more if they make some big accusations. 

[Ray McKigney]

55 minutes ago, hangin n wangin said:

If Luke Walton can incorporate some of the offensive and defense strategies from GS with this Laker team, I think that would be great for our young players. They need a coach who is going to let them play with some freedom, unlike Byron Scott. Luke Walton has always been a really smart basketball mind and that has been confirmed by many through out the NBA.

I actually think this is the first legitimate coaching hire that didn't leave me scratching my head after Phil Jackson left.

Mike Brown was a clown who didn't know anything about offense, Dantoni doesn't even know what the word "defense" means, and Byron Scott was hired to scratch Kobe's balls until he retired.

Has anybody actually discovered whose call it was to hire D'Antoni instead of Phil? I would guess Jim Buss. Hands down one of the most perplexing decisions I've ever seen by a successful sports franchise.

[meat]

On 6/14/2016 at 7:47 PM, Mr Meeseeks said:

Nah. They wont be tanking. 30-40 wins next year. Maybe more if they move to the Eastern Conference.

 

[Tank]

On June 14, 2016 at 7:47 PM, Mr Meeseeks said:

Nah. They wont be tanking. 30-40 wins next year. Maybe more if they make some big accusations. 

This is a very young team without much leadership on the court. They also have questionable talent and several holes to fill, plus they're going to have a rookie coach.

30 wins from this group would be impressive as things now stand.

[NrM]

41 minutes ago, Tank said:

This is a very young team without much leadership on the court. They also have questionable talent and several holes to fill, plus they're going to have a rookie coach.

30 wins from this group would be impressive as things now stand.

Yea I think you're right. I think 25-30 wins is more realistic, unless they make some big acquisitions, which wouldn't surprise me.

[Angel Oracle]

I'll take 30-35 wins, and then hope for one more superstar acquisition, and see where that takes them.

[Brandon]

Not my first choice, but like that Kobe video mentions and was my first thought process, "White bench or role players always make the best coaches"

I mean shit, Tyron Lue just won a championship. I think Walton got good experience with Kerr.

Add Kobe's contract off the books and Walton just did an interview saying they have cap room for 2-3 (I forget which number) max contracts plus a #2 pick or possible trade for another solid player.

The Lakers have the potential to turn it around quickly.

[nate]

They have 60-70 million in cap space.

They need to be careful though and if they don't get their top picks that doesn't mean pivot to someone lesser and still give them a long term contract.  Don't want to be saddled with a bunch of 3 year contracts on mediocre players.  Suck it up and be shitty again for another year.

[HaloNArizona]

Walton is a great higher.  Scott could not and would not relate to the younger players....Russell, Clarkson, Randle, Ingram (hopefully) is our core and our future.....we need a coach who has some experience dealing with young talent....oh yea...like in Golden State.