Even though new Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton will remain with the Golden State Warriors until their season is finished, the Lakers have said that they will not wait until he is with the team to fill out his coaching staff. One name that has continually come up is Brian Shaw.
Shaw was both a player and an assistant coach with the Lakers and was a former head coach with the Denver Nuggets. General Manager Mitch Kupchak has spoken about wanting to surround Walton with assistants who have head coaching experience and Shaw fits the bill perfectly.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they have some competition in trying to lure Shaw in as an assistant, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com:
In the meantime, Walton is continuing to try and convince Brian Shaw to join his Lakers coaching staff. But Shaw is also being wooed by new Pacers head coach Nate McMillan for a similar position, according to sources. Ideally, Shaw would serve as Walton’s proxy in L.A. during the Predraft workouts.
The Lakers would obviously love to have Shaw on the staff. Walton is only 36 years old and has never been a head coach so bringing in Shaw would be perfect as not only does he have head coaching experience, but he’s also familiar with Walton as an assistant on the Lakers while Walton was still playing.
As Aldridge noted, Walton is unable to be around while the Lakers conduct their pre-draft workouts. Although the Lakers brass is recording footage and sending it all to Walton, having a trusted assistant there would surely ease the process.
Hopefully for Walton and the Lakers, they can secure Shaw and whoever else they are targeting for their coaching staff. The sooner that is handled, the quicker they can take the lead when it comes to not only the draft workouts but working with the current roster.