The beginning of the National Basketball Association regular season is only a week away. With impending roster cuts yet to be made, the soon-to-be 15-man roster of Luke Walton and the Los Angeles Lakers will be ready to take on the rigors of an 82-game season.
The Walton tenure in Los Angeles is starting on an uplifting note, with the roster buying into the new offensive schemes Walton is implementing. The rookie head coach has the young core excited to begin and anxious to get back on a winning track.
While Lakers fans are eager to see the results and growth of the roster, the NBA will display many intriguing story lines regarding rookie(or relocated) head coaches.
The NBA conducted their annual general manager survey, where they ask the organizational minds some questions regarding coaches, players, teams and miscellaneous topics.
When asked which new (or relocated) coach would have the biggest impact on their team, the rookie Walton wound up with the fourth most votes:
For reference, there are 10 coaches entering this season that have yet to coach a single game with their new teams.
Tom Thibodeau truly takes the reigns of the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise, as the head coach and president of basketball operations. In similar fashion to his mentor Doc Rivers, Thibodeau and his defensive prowess are expected to help the Timberwolves take a giant leap in production and results.
Former Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni, who signed a contract to coach the Houston Rockets, will run a high-scoring offense with James Harden at the helm. Meanwhile Frank Vogel, who was fired from his Indiana Pacers coaching job, was one of the immediate hires this NBA offseason. Now coaching the Orlando Magic, he gets to truly implement his own system around the talented young group of players.
For Walton, the ranking with these relocated head coaches is truly an honor. As the only actual rookie head coach to make the list, it demonstrates the respect he has already garnered around the league.
His former players have shown support of his new adventure, with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson already noticing a culture change.
His former boss, Steven Kerr, also stated Walton will be a brilliant coach, alluding to his comfortability in his own skin.
Walton has less than a week to make his final decisions regarding the upcoming season, but will feature a roster which are anxious to learn from his highly coveted basketball mind.