Luke Walton has been granted permission by the Golden State Warriors to interview for the Pacific Division rival Los Angeles Lakers head coaching position.
According to Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, the Los Angeles Lakers have asked for and have been granted permission to interview Warriors top assistant coach Luke Walton for their head coaching vacancy.
The interview will reportedly go down after the Warriors’ first round series against the Houston Rockets comes to a close. If the Warriors win tonight, they’ll advance to the second round and a potential interview could take place as early as Thursday theoretically speaking.
Walton, a former small forward for the Lakers, helped Golden State achieve a record-setting 73 wins during the 2015-16 NBA season. He led the Warriors for roughly the first half of their season, as Kerr was sidelined with a back injury. Kerr would go on to win 2015-16’s NBA Coach of the Year for his 73-9 regular season.
Los Angeles entered the 2016 coaching carousel two weeks after most teams in the NBA looking for head coaches had begun their coaching search. Since the regular season ended on April 14th, the Brooklyn Nets have hired Atlanta Hawks top assistant Kenny Atkinson, the Minnesota Timberwolves hired former Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, and the Washington Wizards hired former Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks.
The Phoenix Suns also agreed to remove the interim tag on Earl Watson by giving him a three-year contract extension to lead that young basketball club. While Walton is certainly the Lakers’ top choice to lead their 2016-17 team, especially after Brooks went to D.C., he may very well stay put with Golden State next year and go to a better situation.
Los Angeles went a miserable 17-65 in 2015-16 and finished with the second-worst record in the NBA. There are no guarantees that Walton will leave Oakland for Los Angeles, but his allegiance to the purple and gold could be stronger than what many may realize. He’s only 36 years old, but could be the right coach for the Lakers should they choose to go in that direction for 2016-17.
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