The Los Angeles Lakers have begun their offseason with high aspirations, after firing Byron Scott and hiring a young but talented coach in Luke Walton, the Lakers can only go up from here. The Lakers went on to finish the season with Byron Scott and Kobe Bryant at the helms winning only 17 games, but with Walton, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak is hopeful.
According to Baxter Holmes of ESPN, Kupchak spoke on the Lakers new Head Coaches bright future:
As such, on Friday, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said that Walton, whom the Lakers agreed to hire last week, will endure “some bumps in the road,” but the team believes Walton “is a good bet going forward” and that “we think he’s going to get better year to year.”
It certainly sounds like Kupchak is trying to warn former Golden State Warriors assistant coach, that things aren’t as pretty in Los Angeles as they are in Oakland. Walton was the interim head coach for the majority of the season for the Warriors, especially during that marvellous 24-0 run they had to start the season. It won’t be as simple for the Lakers just yet. The young core of the Lakers consisting of D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Jordan Clarkson are poised to improve and develop to become a threat in the Western Conference.
Walton was a sought out coach everywhere around the league, including the Knicks and the Kings, but the Lakers got his attention first. Walton is a former Laker player, so coaching there will be reminiscent of the times he played (or didn’t) in Los Angeles. Either way, Mitch Kupchak knows that the Lakers will not be an over night success and they probably won’t be able to turn things around in one offseason, but he’s hopeful for constant improvement from his players and his new coach. Walton will find out the in’s and out’s of being a Head Coach, especially as coach of the Lakers, where the heat is constantly put on you by the local media. With Walton’s addition and something like $60 million in potential cap space, the Lakers look to make a big splash in the offseason.
