Luke Walton Could Start As Lakers Coach As Early As Today

Trevor Lane
3 Min Read

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 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:

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.

Trevor Lane is a longtime NBA and Los Angeles Lakers fan who had the good fortune to grow up during the glory days of the Showtime Lakers, when Magic Johnson, Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, and the rest ruled the Great Western Forum. He has written about basketball, soccer, fantasy sports, MMA, and even pro wrestling over the course of his career, but the spectacle that is the Lakers is his true passion. He made the leap into podcasting for Lakers Nation and provides voice-over analysis for our YouTube channel. With a who's who of stars gracing the Lakers lineup over the years, including Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Pau Gasol, and many others, the Lakers always provide plenty to talk about. When he isn't writing or recording, Trevor can be found spending time with his wife and daughter or on the sidelines for one of the youth teams he coaches. Outside of the Lakers, Trevor is a supporter of the LA Galaxy, US Soccer, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Contact: trevor@mediumlargela.com
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