Walton lands Dream Job with Lakers

With a vacancy in their head coaching position, the Los Angeles Lakers have found their man. After finishing the past three regular seasons with the worst record in franchise history and diminishing win totals of 27, 21 and 19, the Lakers are ready to start off on a clean slate. And they'll be doing so under newly hired head coach Luke Walton. Name sound familiar? That's because it wasn't long ago that Walton was on the court playing for the Lakers where he spent nine years as a fan favorite. And now both Laker fans and the front-office are hoping that will continue as he returns back to the Lakers bench, only this time with a suit and tie on instead of a jersey.

Hired to become the 26th head coach in franchise history, Walton, son of NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton, joins a long list of names of former Laker players who later went on to coach the team. Impressive names with the likes of George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Jerry West, Pat Riley, Magic Johnson, Kurt Rambis and most recently -- Byron Scott who was relieved of his duties after just two seasons. Thus making Walton the eighth former Lakers player turned coach. However, of the seven others before him, only three of those names have finished their tenure with a winning record. And only two if you're counting a full season's worth of work. With Walton being the eighth Lakers coach to have also donned the purple and gold as a player, it's safe to say the Lakers prefer to keep it in the family by hiring one of their own. And hopefully this one works out better than the last one did.

After capturing only 38 combined wins in two seasons under Scott, the Lakers are hoping to have much more success under Walton who was twice named coach of the month this season while filling in for Steve Kerr as the intern head coach of the Golden State Warriors, whom he led to a 39-4 record, including a blazing 24-0 start. Following Kerr's return back to the Warriors bench after recovering from back surgery, the Warriors went on to assemble the greatest regular season in NBA history, finishing with an all-time best record of 73-9, narrowing the 72-10 mark previously held by the team that Kerr coincidentally played for -- the '95-'96 Chicago Bulls. Because of the accomplishment, Kerr would be named Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season, while many believed the award should've gone to Walton or at the very least share the award with co-Coach of the Year honors. Unfortunately for Walton, that wouldn't be the case. But at least his time in the driver seat helped skyrocket both his stock and interest in landing a head coaching job.

Two years removed from being a part-time assistant coach in the NBA's Developmental League, Walton, who becomes the youngest active head coach in the league at just 36 years of age, will now takeover the most winningest franchise in the NBA. Having grown up in Southern California and later playing for the team he lived just a stones throw away from, the hiring of Walton could be the perfect fit in L.A. Or it could be another Byron Scott-type disaster that we were more than excited for at first, and later ended up hating. At first glance, Walton doesn't seem like the type of hire you'd make when looking to help develop players which is exactly what the Lakers are in need of with their crop of young players led by Julius Randle and DeAngelo Russell. Then again, Walton could be the perfect man for the job, knocking it out of the park and proving us all wrong. The truth is, only time will tell. And whether or not the Lakers organization might not want to admit it, regardless of who it was they decided to hire, the next man for the job was going to need plenty of that to help get the Lakers back into winning form -- time. Entering year three of the Lakers current reconstruction, the front-office will have to show patience with Walton, something they showed very little of with Byron Scott calling the plays. And with Walton reportedly agreeing to a five-year deal, four of which guaranteed at an amount not yet made public, they appear to be understanding.

Smart move or not by Walton with many believing he jumped the gun and should've returned to Golden State for at least another year, he might not have had the opportunity to land his dream job again if he chose to wait it out another season. Sure leaving an organization that is currently atop the basketball world in both popularity and excitement, not to mention has the talent to become a dynasty, seems hard, but jobs like the one Walton just agreed to take don't come around too often. Though it was only a small sample size, we've seen how well Walton can coach a roster full of stars and talented players in their prime including the league's MVP, now lets see how well he can coach a bunch of youngsters still looking to make a name for themselves and whether or not he can help guide the Lakers franchise back to prominence as they look to end their dry spell of missing the playoffs for a franchise worst three consecutive seasons. And with a young team in hand already, the Lakers are expected to get even younger as they hope to strike gold in this month's NBA Draft Lottery and perhaps even in free-agency after striking out in each of the last three seasons.


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Lakers find their man in Byron Scott

After finishing dead last in the Pacific division out west and posting their worst record in franchise history at 27-55 under coach Mike D'Antoni last season, the team has announced their newest hire. With D'Antoni resigning back on April 30, the Lakers have finally put an end to their head coaching vacancy nearly three months to the day with the announcement of a four-year, $17 Million contract agreement with Byron Scott. With both free agency and the NBA Draft the top priorities during the early stages of the NBA offseason for the Lakers, GM Mitch Kupchak decided to hold off on hiring a head coach until the dust settled as the game's top free agents found homes. And with the Lakers failing to land either LeBron James or Carmello Anthony, both of whom they were willing to cater to and allow their voice to be heard in the hiring process for the next head coach, the team went on to offer the job to the man we knew they'd hire all along.

Though there were other interviewees which included George Karl, Kurt Rambis, Mike Dunleavy, Alvin Gentry and Lionel Hollins, the job was pretty much Scott's to lose from the get go. That became even more apparent as the interview process went on as Byron Scott returned for a second and third interview as most of the other candidates began signing elsewhere. With defense being a weak point for the team that failed to make the playoffs last season, the disciplinarian that Scott is known throughout the league to be should be a good fit for this Laker team. Scott also knows everything that needs to be known when under the bright lights of Hollywood. Not only does he know a thing or two about the franchise having played 10 seasons in L.A. and winning three titles with the "Showtime" Lakers, he's also quite familiar with the team he'll now be drawing up plays for as he served as an analyst on the Lakers' home station -- Time Warner Cable Sportsnet this past season. 

But what might have been the decided factor overall is his relationship with Lakers star Kobe Bryant. Having once upon a time called Byron Scott a teammate of his during his rookie season with the Lakers in 1996, Kobe has credited his new coach as being a mentor of his and someone he's always had a great deal of respect for and has expressed his interest in playing under Scott if the opportunity presented itself. With the organization expecting success only to be left disappointed each of the last few seasons with both Mike Brown and Mike D'Antoni at the helm, fans weren't hesitant to let their frustration be known. But being one of their own, Byron Scott will get somewhat of a free pass from Laker fans during this rebuilding stage and won't be chased out of the door right away if say the Lakers fail to make the playoffs again. But that's not to say coach Scott is expecting anything short of success from the purple and gold this year. 

Along with the new coaching staff, Laker fans will be seeing some new faces this season as well as some old ones. With Nick Young, Jordan Hill, Wesley Johnson, Xavier Henry and Ryan Kelly all re-signing to join Kobe, Steve Nash and Robert Sacre as returning players this year, the Lakers also made a few new acquisitions. After watching Pau Gasol walk via free agency and sign with the Chicago Bulls, the Lakers claimed former All-Star Carlos Boozer off amnesty waivers while also signing power forward Ed Davis. In need of some depth at the point guard position, the Lakers landed Jeremy Lin from the Houston Rockets along with a first and second round pick in next year's Draft. And last but not least is PF Julius Randle who the Lakers took with the seventh overall pick out of Kentucky in last month's Draft and second round pick Jordan Clarkson (Missouri, point guard) who L.A. acquired on draft night from the Washington Wizards.

Byron Scott's coaching resume includes two trips to the NBA Finals while with the then New Jersey Nets and a Coach of the Year Award (2008) with the then New Orleans Hornets. After taking over a Cleveland Cavaliers team that would end up losing LeBron James via free agency to the Miami Heat just days after his arrival, Scott would be fired from the Cavs in 2013. Scott also joins a long list of former Laker players who later went on to coach the team which includes: Pat Riley, Jerry West, Jim Pollard, George Mikan, Kurt Rambis and Magic Johnson. 

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