Luke Walton Prefers Lakers Grow Together Rather Than Rely On Trades, Free Agency
D’angelo Russell Feels ‘something Special’ With This Lakers Team
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports


The Los Angeles Lakers have assembled an extremely intriguing young group of players over the last couple of years. Head coach Luke Walton has plenty to work with in D’Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr., and Ivica Zubac.

Walton led the young Lakers to an impressive 10-10 start this season, but things have spiraled since with the Lakers dropping 10 of their last 11 games. With the recent slide, some have wondered if the Lakers should begin looking to package a couple of those players in a trade for an established star.

— Get 15% off everything in the Lakers Nation Store right now by using the promo code ‘Lakers’ —

Walton isn’t one who thinks like that, however, as he told Zach Lowe of ESPN that he would prefer the Lakers grow from within:

Luke Walton, the team’s new head coach, doesn’t want to hear it. “If you grow from within, you control your own destiny,” he told ESPN.com. “That’s the game plan. We want to see what this group can do. We don’t want to rely on anything else — on free agency, or trades.”

Going with this plan will take far more time, but it could ultimately bring the biggest reward. Obviously none of the Lakers’ young guys have been at the level of players like Karl-Anthony Towns or Kristaps Porzingis, but that doesn’t mean they can’t eventually be All-Stars or superstars.

Guys like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George got off to slow starts in their careers before eventually blossoming into bonafide stars and All-NBA players. The potential is there for guys like Randle, Russell, and Ingram to do the same, but the Lakers must be patient and Walton understands that.

Before the season Walton said this year would be about development, not wins and losses. Recently he spoke openly about no player on the team being ready to be the face of the Lakers franchise. Despite their struggles, Walton still wants these players to stick together and he clearly believes that things will ultimately payoff for them down the line.

You May Also Like

Lakers News: Anthony Davis Wishes He Got A Video Tribute From Pelicans Like Lonnie Walker IV Did From Spurs

In the absence of LeBron James, it was Anthony Davis and Lonnie Walker IV who really stepped up to bear the offensive load…

Lakers News: Kyle Kuzma Signs Shoe Contract With Nike

When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired the 27th overall pick in last month’s NBA Draft in the deal that sent D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets…

Houston Rockets Plan To Start James Harden, Eric Gordon Backcourt Against Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers kick off the 2016-2017 NBA season on Wednesday night with an intriguing matchup with the Houston Rockets…

Tony Allen Calls Kobe ‘Closest Thing To Michael Jordan’

Kobe Bryant has the upmost respect for arguably one of the best…