Luke Walton to Lakers: Takeaways from Coach’s Introductory Press Conference

The Los Angeles Lakers held an introductory press conference for new head coach Luke Walton on Tuesday, less than 48 hours after he was an assistant on the sidelines as the Golden State Warriors lost Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers.  

Walton, a first-time head coach, called the opportunity with L.A. his “dream job” in the presser, via NBA TV:



The Lakers drafted Walton in the second round in 2003, and he played there until the 2011-12 campaign. He won two rings with the Purple and Gold by beating the Orlando Magic in 2009 and the Boston Celtics in 2010, and he reached the Finals two additional times (2004 against the Detroit Pistons and 2008 against the Celtics).

Walton brings more than just his experience as a player to Los Angeles. He was an assistant for the Warriors over the last two years and served as the interim coach for Golden State in 2015-16 while head coach Steve Kerr was recovering from back surgery. The Warriors started the year 24-0 under Walton and were a sparkling 39-4 before Kerr returned.

Arash Markazi of ESPN.com suggested Walton will try to emulate some of what made Golden State successful: “Walton has mentioned playing music and creating a culture where players are happy. He's bringing the Kerr's Warriors blueprint over.”

Walton echoed those sentiments Tuesday, per Mike Trudell of Lakers.com: “Our players are going to like coming into practice every day. We’re going to play a brand of basketball (fans like to watch).”

There is nothing wrong with trying to imitate the Warriors after they set the NBA record with 73 wins this past regular season and won the title in 2014-15. Stephen Curry also took home the last two MVP trophies playing inside Golden State’s system.

Walton did say, “I don’t think I’ll get over that in this lifetime” on Tuesday when...

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