The Los Angeles Lakers have recently made their biggest splash in years by hiring Luke Walton as their head coach. There was plenty of uncertainty regarding the Lakers’ head coaching position heading into the offseason, but the Lakers decided to part ways with Byron Scott and immediately snag Luke Walton away from the bench of the Golden State Warriors.
Walton benefited from his exposure as interim head coach for the Warriors this season, as he led them to a 39-4 start to their season while Steve Kerr recovered from surgery. Of course, even though his contract is signed, Walton will not join the Lakers until his run with the Warriors is finished. Despite that, however, Walton is working towards filling out his coaching staff:
Kupchak says that they are working to fill the coaching staff as soon as possible (via @TWCSportsNet)
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) May 6, 2016
Brian Shaw and J.B. Bickerstaff are two potential candidates who have been linked with the Lakers. At 36-years-old, Walton will be the youngest active coach in the NBA. With Walton’s lack of head coaching experience in mind, Lakers’ General Manager Mitch Kupchak believes that Walton will surround himself with assistant coaches who have head coaching experience:
Mitch says there’s a ‘strong possibility’ that Lakers will look for assistants with head coaching experience (via @TWCSportsNet)
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) May 6, 2016
Since Walton is currently focused on what should be another deep playoff run for the Warriors, Kupchak insists that the Lakers’ brass will assist Walton in manufacturing a staff of experienced assistant coaches. Walton’s obligations also will keep him busy throughout the majority of the Lakers’ pre-draft workouts so it becomes even more important that the coaching staff is assembled so the assistants can be available to take part in those.
Walton’s coaching staff will likely be announced in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, it is a great sign the the Lakers’ front office will remain active in helping him grow as a young coach.