The years between Kobe Bryant's retirement and LeBron James joining the Los Angeles Lakers were some rough times, but the franchise did begin to build something. The Lakers had done an excellent job in the draft with young talents like Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Julius Randle, Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Clarkson and Ivica Zubac all showing promise, and the team believed they had found the perfect young coach to lead that group in Luke Walton.
Of course, LeBron joining the franchise changed that timeline completely with most of those players being dealt away for more win-now pieces and Walton being fired after the 2019 season. It would work out for the Lakers as they won the 2020 NBA Championship, meanwhile Walton would land with the Sacramento Kings and now serves as an assistant on the Detroit Pistons.
At that time, Walton was viewed as one of the brightest young coaches in the NBA, especially after his stint as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors prior to taking the Lakers job. And Walton recently opened up about how he got into coaching following his retirement from playing on the "Throwbacks" podcast with Jerry Ferrara and Matt Leinart:
"Going back to that first year of retirement, I kind of separated my life in three. Retired life, which was hanging out with Matt every day, going to the gym, playing beach volleyball. Part-time coaching with the Lakers' G League team. And then part-time TV with the Lakers station, just to kind of seeing where I wanted to go. And after a year of that it was clear to me that coaching was where my passion was and still so much fun to be out there with guys, competing, talking trash, trying to win together. And then Steve Kerr got the job that next year so I called Steve and I was like, 'any chance I can get on staff?' He's like 'I just gave all my money to Alvin Gentry and Ron Adams but if you're interested, we can talk.' And I said 'absolutely' and Steve offered me the job and I've been coaching ever since."
Walton was young in his coaching career at that time, but now over a decade into coaching he admits there are some things he would change if he could go back:
"There's a lot that I've learned on this journey. When I first got that Lakers job I had only been coaching for two years up there with Golden State and there's just a lot of different things since then that I understand and different situations that I've been in. It's like anything, even when you're a player, hopefully continuing to grow and understand the game more and it's the same with coaching. So yeah, to answer your question Matt, there's a lot I'd do different and there's a lot I've learned since then."
Walton was basically new to coaching when he took the Lakers job and went from a very young team with long-term aspirations to coaching James and expecting to win immediately. It was a tough situation and one that he would surely handle differently knowing what he knows now.
It's anyone's guess whether he will get the chance to be a head coach once again in the NBA, but Walton continues to put in the work as he clearly loves coaching and has a passion for it.
Much like Luke Walton back then, new Lakers coach JJ Redick is young and promising with the potential to lead this team for a long time. But the Lakers must build the right roster around their superstars and the biggest need is at center.
The Lakers' rescinded trade for Charlotte Hornets big man Mark Williams is well known at this point, but the team also made calls on others including Atlanta Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu. It was recently reported that the Lakers called the Hawks about Okongwu around the trade deadline, but the two sides were obviously unable to come to terms on a deal.