The Los Angeles Lakers ushered in a new era when they hired Luke Walton as their head coach last summer. With the departure of previous head coach Byron Scott as well as the retirement of superstar guard Kobe Bryant, it was clear the organization would be handed over to their young players in an effort to build the future.
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However, it appears that Walton doesn’t believe that any of the Lakers’ young talent are quite ready to take the reigns just yet. He said as much to Mychal Thompson in an interview with ESPN LA (via Lakers Nation’s Serena Winters):
.@champagnennuts asked Luke Walton about the importance of there being a face of the Lakers franchise on @ESPNLosAngeles
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 20, 2016
2/2: ..change in the future, Luke said: "I don't see any of our young core taking over as face of the franchise anytime soon." (On espn710)
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) December 20, 2016
While Lakers fans are anxious for an heir-apparent to Bryant’s throne, it’s hard to argue with Walton’s line of thinking. Los Angeles does indeed have a number of intriguing young players, including D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Brandon Ingram, but none of them are even at an All-Star level at this point, much less in consideration to take over as the face of the franchise.
Nor are they expected to be.
As a team, the Lakers are a young bunch that is still learning the ropes in the NBA. Russell, who many believe is most likely to become a star, is only in his second season, while Ingram is 19 and has a ways to go physically before he can handle the professional game.
Given the team’s recent struggles with finding wins, the coach instead is simply reminding everyone that patience is going to be required. No one player is at a level where they can take over just yet, and as such, they will have to find a way to get it done as a team.