UPDATED 2:01 p.m.
The Los Angeles Lakers will introduce Luke Walton as the new head coach tomorrow at the team’s practice facility in El Segundo, according to Bill Oram of the OC Register:
The Lakers will introduce Luke Walton at a press conference on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
— Bill Oram (@billoram) June 20, 2016
The NBA season ended last night when the Cleveland Cavaliers made a surprising and unlikely comeback, defeating the Golden State Warriors. For the Los Angeles Lakers, however, the season has been over for two months, and the team has been focused on preparing for the future.
Their coach, Luke Walton, hasn’t been able to be as big of a part of the planning process as he would like due to his role as an assistant head coach for the Warriors. Now that the Finals are over, he can head to Los Angeles and officially join the Lakers. Apparently there is no rest for the weary, because even though the Finals ended last night, Walton may arrive at Lakers headquarters tonight to start his new job, via Bill Oram of the Orange County Register:
Lakers expect that Luke Walton could be in the office as early as tomorrow. Draft is four days away.
— Bill Oram (@billoram) June 20, 2016
Of course, Oram is absolutely correct. With the draft taking place on Thursday, that gives Walton very little time to emotionally rebound from the terrible loss to the Cavs and re-focus on the Lakers, but the quick turnaround is unavoidable. Ready or not, the draft is taking place in three days.
Fortunately, Walton has had assistant coach Brian Shaw attend the Lakers workouts with top prospects for him. With Duke’s Brandon Ingram and LSU’s Ben Simmons sitting atop just about every draft board out there, the team will likely select whichever of the two the Philadelphia 76ers pass on with the first overall pick.
The second overall pick being something of a foregone conclusion makes Walton’s absence a little easier to cover for, but there are still a number of prospects that have to be evaluated prior to the team making a decision on the 32nd pick. Walton will certainly be tired, but there is work to be done if the Lakers are going to climb out of the cellar.