There have been a few rumors surrounding potential additions to Luke Walton’s coaching staff with the Los Angeles Lakers. While the additions of Brian Shaw and Jesse Mermuys as well as the retention of Mark Madsen were all announced a while ago, there have been no other official announcements since.
That has now changed as the Lakers officially announced five new hires for Walton’s staff including former player Jud Buechler among others via Lakers.com:
The Los Angeles Lakers announced today that the team has hired Jud Buechler, Brian Keefe, and Theo Robertson as player development coaches on Head Coach Luke Walton’s staff, joining associate head coach Brian Shaw and assistant coaches Jesse Mermuys and Mark Madsen. Additionally, it was announced that Casey Owens has been named assistant coach/advance professional scout and Will Scott has been named to the staff as video coordinator.
Both Buechler and Theo Robertson were rumored to be a part of the staff for a while now, so their inclusions are simply confirmation of what was already known. Likewise, it was recently reported that Casey Owens, formerly the head coach of the Los Angeles D-Fenders, would be promoted and join the Lakers staff as well.
Brian Keefe was most recently a part of the New York Knicks coaching staff under Derek Fisher but was not retained after the Knicks brought in Jeff Hornacek to coach the team this summer. Will Scott has been with the Lakers organization since 2011 but has worked primarily with the D-Fenders.
Luke Walton now looks to have a pretty full coaching staff and one that is heavy on coaches who specialize in player development. For a team with so many young players, developing them is at the top of the to-do list so focusing on that was a smart decision for Walton and the Lakers.