While most of the focus is on the players the Los Angeles Lakers are adding, a somewhat underrated part of this off-season is the construction of new head coach Luke Walton’s coaching staff.
The first additions to the coaching staff were recently announced as Brian Shaw and Jesse Mermuys were brought on, and Mark Madsen was retained. Now Walton has made two more additions to that coaching staff according to Brad Turner of the LA Times:
Luke Walton added more to his Lakers staff, hiring Jud Buechler as an assistant coach.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) July 5, 2016
Luke Walton also has added Theo Robertson, a former Warriors assistant, to his Lakers staff.
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) July 5, 2016
Although Buechler has never coached in the NBA, he does have experience as a player from 1990-2002. Like Walton and assistant coach Jesse Mermuys, he is a product of the University of Arizona. However, Buechler was best known as a sharpshooter on a Chicago Bulls team that won three NBA championships during his tenure there.
Robertson is a former standout on the 2010 California Golden Bears squad that brought the school its first conference title in 50 years. As a second-team All Pac-10 selection that year, Robertson retired as the programs best three-point shooter with a career 44.0 percentage from deep. After serving as Director of Operations for his former coach Mike Montgomery, he was hired as a video intern by the Golden State Warriors during their 2015 championship run.
The Lakers have acquired a good mix of experienced who have been around the league and also some younger people who may not have the most experience, but could be better with relating to the young squad. It’s also worth noting that both Buechler and Robertson were both known as shooters in their playing days as the Lakers ranked dead last in three-point percentage last season.
Hopefully the staff will be able to get the most out of this Lakers squad and help them to develop quickly.