More on Los Angeles Lakers coach
But there was initially some pause from Buss, who was sensitive to the likelihood that the pursuit of Lue and Jackson would be perceived as James and his agent Rich Paul running the show and spearheading the coaching search, sources said. Eventually, Buss’ concerns were alleviated after she reiterated the Lakers are a “Buss-ran organization,” sources said.
There’s a new and familiar name with strong connections to LeBron James atop the latest odds for the next Lakers head coach, at least according to one Sportsbook. The folks at BetOnline have Juwan Howard as a 4-1 favorite to become the Lakers head coach next season, with current Lakers head coach Luke Walton and former Cavaliers head coach Ty Lue following close behind at 7-1. Meanwhile, former betting favorite Jason Kidd has fallen to 9-1.
The intensity and specificity of the reports around a potential successor have invited speculation that the Lakers have informally started their search while Walton is still on the job — something Walton said he has not concerned himself with. “I just view it as outside noise unless someone from within tells me that that happened,” Walton told The Athletic. “Unless someone from within our group is telling me that, I just view it like all the other things we’ve gone through as a team this year. Those are things that I don’t have the time to worry about. I’ve got more important things to do like getting the team better and doing my job.”
Harrison Faigen: Jason Kidd is the heavy favorite from Bovada to be the next Lakers head coach. You can also bet on LaVar Ball, Luke Walton and others pic.twitter.com/stEMbWKWs5
Jason Kidd, now living back in Phoenix, has been promoting himself to succeed Luke Walton as Lakers coach. Kidd wants back in while he still pockets $5 million this season from the Bucks, along with another $5 million he’ll get from Milwaukee next season.
Ramona Shelburne: It's not clear yet whether Walton will be consulted on who is hired to replace Jim & Mitch. Obviously very difficult spot for Walton, who was hired by Kupchak and Jim Buss.
Bob Garcia: Magic Johnson: "We have a lot of young nice pieces on this team. I love Luke and he is the right coach to develop these players." #Lakers
Bob Garcia: Magic Johnson: "I'm excited about the future of our team. Now I'm going to see how they practice. That's really important." Via @SpectrumSN
Serena Winters: Jeanie Buss’ relationship with Luke Walton much diff than with coaches prior. Feels like a “mother figure.” (b/c PJAX felt like a father figure)
Q: We’ve got to talk about the new head coach – Luke Walton. What was your reaction to getting the news? Clarkson: I was definitely excited getting the news. D’Angelo texted me when stuff happened. It was pretty cool. It’s definitely a good opportunity for us to learn and grow with somebody. Hopefully, everything works out in the summer and I’m here.
As the conversations eased into his thoughts on the Lakers hiring Luke Walton to be the team’s new head coach, Russell became excited. He said he has talked to Walton “as much as possible” but is trying not to bother his coach too much. Walton is an assistant coach with Golden State, and the Warriors are in the midst of the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I’m beyond happy,” Russell said. “I’ve heard so much about him. Kobe [Bryant] even said Luke is one of the top two coaches in this league in this day and age. I’m just looking forward to being coached and pushed.”
Another potential candidate – Brian Shaw – had been hopeful of getting the Warriors’ top assistant job, which he found preferable to accepting the offer to join Walton with the Lakers, league sources said. Shaw is a Bay Area native and still lives there.
Diamond Leung: Rick Welts on Luke Walton going to LAL: "If you can be thrilled & depressed at the same time I guess that's what we are." cbsloc.al/1OIlBcA
Q: On hiring Walton so quickly: Kupchak: We didn’t have to spend a lot of time getting to know Luke. As a player, we drafted Luke, signed him to two or three contracts. We traded him to Cleveland, which, to this day he hasn’t forgiven us for (laughs). When he came back, he worked with us for our D-League team (the Los Angeles D-Fenders) for one year. We didn’t have to spend a lot of time getting to know him. We know him as a person. Jim (Buss) and I spent six or seven hours basically talking basketball. We had a lot of questions. “What kind of offense? What kind of defense? How do you see our team playing? What do you think of our players? What do we need?” A lot of “What if?” scenarios. And he was well thought out. He was prepared. He had an offensive and defensive playbook. He actually had another pamphlet that he handed out with his picture on the front of it and his name underneath: Luke Walton. I looked at it and said, “Really, Luke?” And he said, “This is something my agent made me do.” (laughs)
On hiring Luke Walton and deciding not to retain Byron Scott: Kupchak: It didn’t go wrong with Byron, and there’s no one thing you can point to. The expression: “decision to go in another direction,” is overused. But I decline to go into great detail. Byron did a wonderful job under very adverse circumstances the last two years. I know he wasn’t expecting not to coach our team next year. I know he was hoping that he would coach. But that’s the business, and when I spoke to Byron, we kind of both looked at each other and said, “We’ve both been around long enough to know that this happens.” I thank Byron publicly, and hopefully he’ll be a part of the Lakers for a long, long time in any way possible.
Lakers Nation: Mitch Kupchak says that they are working to fill the coaching staff as soon as possible (via @TWCSportsNet)
Luke Walton and the Lakers agreed to a deal Thursday night, paving the way for him to become the next head coach of the team. Walton, 36, reportedly has a five-year deal worth about $25 million. The first four years of the deal are guaranteed.
Bill Herenda: Mitch Kupchak had 50-60 Qs for Luke Walton including “What would you do & what’s your philosophy?" Mike Trudell & Mychal Thompson on @ESPNLosAngeles
New head coach Luke Walton is starting to construct his coaching staff, and the most prominent on his short list of candidates is Brian Shaw, league sources said.
Byron Scott spent his last two years in Los Angeles, in his words, doing a juggling act. “You do have a bunch of guys that you are trying to develop and get them to understand how to play the right way,” he said on The Dan Patrick Show on Monday morning. “And then you have Kobe basically on a (farewell) tour.”
The juggling act was so tough, he said, and something he thought that the Lakers front office had seen going into the season as well. In fact, he thought the two sides agreed when he was hired that it would take a few years to turn the team around. So when he was let go, he said he was “blindsided.” “But I have no ill-will for the organization,” he said. “I still love the Lakers organization and I wish them all the best.”
Magic Johnson: Laker Nation, I'm excited that Luke Walton is the new coach! Coach Luke Walton will make the young players better and Free Agents will be excited to come play for Coach Walton and the Lakers! With $60M in cap space and a new coach in Luke Walton I'm really excited about next season!
The Lakers interviewed Walton in Oakland on Thursday night, according to a league source familiar with the situation. The Lakers had plans to interview Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina at some point next week between Games 2 (Monday) and 3 (Friday) of their Western Conference semifinals series against Oklahoma City, according to a league source. Those plans were then cancelled following Walton’s interview.
Luke Walton tells ESPN. "I loved everything about my time at Golden State and learning from Steve. I'll forever be grateful to him, the organization and the team. But I have always dreamed of being a head coach and the chance to do that for an organization like the Lakers doesn't come around very often."
Jim Buss, part-owner and executive vice president of basketball operations, could well be gone next summer and so could Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak. Could Phil Jackson return? Such questions loom heavy over the Lakers' future. "The number one thing is this," said one source familiar with both the Warriors and Lakers. "The Lakers are dysfunctional as an organization. A coach can't change this."
Kevin Ding: Lakers have agreed to terms with Luke Walton to be their next head coach, according to team sources.
Howard Beck: Luke Walton has agreed to become the next head coach of the Lakers, sources tell BR.
Mike Trudell: Luke Walton is officially the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. He’ll begin his new duties at the conclusion of the GSW season.
The source also said Lue currently has no interest in any of the current head-coaching vacancies around the league in Houston, New York, Sacramento or the Los Angeles Lakers, the franchise he started his career with as a rookie point guard in 1998-99.
2016 guard Christian Vital verbally committed to Connecticut on Friday, he informed Scout. “I’m staying in the Northeast,” Vital said with excitement. Vital, a 6-foot-2 guard out of Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More, picked Kevin Ollie and the Huskies over Louisville. “Basically [Kevin Ollie], he’s texted me before 9:00 every day this week,” Vital said. “Just letting me know about he Lakers situation and that he loves me and he’s staying at UConn. That really means something to me, to have that kind of relationship with the head coach, knowing he has a million things to do.”
Before Walton likely interviews for the Lakers’ head-coaching vacancy soon, his father provided honest commentary that for once does not follow with a laugh track. “Stay where he is. Head-coaching jobs are open for a reason. What he has right now, it doesn’t get any better than that. Money cannot buy what they have on the Warriors right now,” Bill Walton told Tim Ring, the sports director of KTVK, in a recent interview.
“I’ve been on some of the most special teams in the history of basketball,” said Bill Walton, who won two championships with UCLA (1972-73), one championship with the Portland Trail Blazers (1977) and one championship with the Boston Celtics (1986). “I’ve seen the other end of the spectrum too. So I know. It’s so fragile and it’s so tenuous. It’s like any young person chasing their dream in the world of entrepreneurship, start ups and everything. Don’t change jobs for money. Leave a job because it’s a bad job. If you have a good job and you’re in a great situation as Luke is, you got Steve Kerr, you got all these beautiful players and California and the Bay Area. That’s fantastic. With all that being said….”
Bill Walton trailed off, leading to the inevitable question about his son. “Is he going to listen to you?” “Did you listen to your dad, Tim?” Bill Walton responded with a smile.
Sam Amick: As @MarcJSpearsESPN noted, the Rockets (like the Lakers) have received permission to speak with Luke Walton. The Kings, I'm told, have not.
Sources say the Lakers also plan to interview former Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt and have strong interest in UConn coach Kevin Ollie. Ollie grew up a Lakers fan in Southern California and has strong relationships from his playing days with stars known to interest Los Angeles in free agency this summer and beyond, such as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
Jackson could explain to Dolan that Rambis may not look like the most attractive candidate, but that Jackson will work closely with Rambis and will be more involved in the day-to-day operation of the club. Plus, Blatt would be Rambis’ top assistant with head coaching experience. A person close to Blatt believes that scenario is plausible, although Blatt is still holding out hope that he gets a head coaching job. He has been mentioned as a candidate with the Lakers.
Yet sources stressed to ESPN.com that San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina is also getting strong consideration. Messina had a decorated coaching career in Europe before serving as a Lakers consultant in 2011-12. Not only is he a known entity to Lakers officials, but he also has spent the past two seasons alongside Hall of Fame-bound San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. The Lakers, sources say, are seeking a coach who can change their on-court fortunes, connect with their many young players and help their free-agent recruiting efforts. Team officials, however, have made it clear that they are not prepared to grant full personnel control to whomever they hire. That policy applied in Los Angeles even when Phil Jackson was on the bench.
Marc J. Spears: Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has called asking for permission to speak Luke Walton. Permission granted after series.
Marc Stein: NBA coaching scuttle: Hearing Ettore Messina will get a very legit look from the Lakers if they can't lure Luke Walton out of Golden State.
The challenge for Lakers executives Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss as they search for a replacement for Byron Scott is to find someone who can be effective in spearheading their recruiting pitches to free agents, which have fizzled badly in recent years. “That appears to be the No. 1 priority,” a league source told Sporting News. “It’s not just finding a guy to work with what’s on the roster. They need a coach who can pitch players.”
Ollie has three years left on his contract with UConn after signing a five-year extension in 2014. But with former Huskies athletic director Warde Manuel leaving for the University of Michigan earlier this season, Ollie has a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave for another team without incurring fees from a buyout, according to sources familiar with the deal. A source added, however, those terms would not go into effect until March, though the costs are believed to be relatively nominal.
UConn coach Kevin Ollie is interested in the Lakers' coaching opening, a source close to the situation told SNY.tv. "Of course he is interested," the source said. "He is from Crenshaw."
The source told SNY.tv that Ollie -- who led UConn to the 2014 NCAA championship -- would want at least some involvement in player personnel decisions with the Lakers. "He's gotta be involved in player personnel decisions," the source said. "Mitch Kupchak has to be willing to involve him in player personnel. He has to have a say-so in that."
There’s an easy explanation: The Lakers are in lockstep on whom they want. Luke Walton is an obvious choice; the former Lakers forward has strong ties to the franchise and is fresh off the most successful fill-in head coaching stint in NBA history. Connecticut’s Kevin Ollie has been on the NBA’s radar for a few years. Spurs assistant Ettore Messina has for even longer. Jeff Van Gundy has a proven track record and the disciplined system the Lakers badly need.
According to Chris Broussard of ESPN, there are even those around the league who believe that Walton taking over the Lakers following Golden State's playoff run is a done deal (transcription of Broussard's comments on Thompson and Trudell via Lakers Outsiders): "I talked to several people last night who said, ‘[Los Angeles] must know they can get Luke Walton. They must have something in place with Luke Walton.'"
According to a person with knowledge of the situation, the Lakers have received permission from the San Antonio Spurs to interview their lead assistant coach, Ettore Messina, as a possible replacement for the recently departed Byron Scott.
On the search for a new head coach: Kupchak: It’s not something that we want to drag out. There are a lot of different arenas that we can look to to find a coach, without mentioning those different possibilities. That opens up, clearly, assistants, existing head coaches, and we’ve got a list. We’re trying to narrow the list down. We’ll contact some people and hopefully we’ll have some phone conversations, maybe some in-person interviews, and go from there. I don’t think it’s gonna drag out, but you don’t know.
According to a person with knowledge of the situation, the Lakers have received permission from the San Antonio Spurs to interview their lead assistant coach, Ettore Messina, as a possible replacement for the recently departed Byron Scott.
While many names have been mentioned, Messina and Golden State Warriors assistant Luke Walton are believed to be on the Lakers’ unofficial short list.
First and foremost, who is calling the shots in L.A.? Scott's dismissal bore all the signs that Buss and GM Mitch Kupchak had made the call. League sources indicated that Scott believed into the weekend that he'd survive and have his third-year option picked up. Something changed, but team president Jeanie Buss, who has taken a more active role in team affairs, did not play a role in Scott's firing, a league source said.
By all appearances, the search for Scott's replacement will be run by Jeanie's brother, Jim, and Kupchak. It's a critical hire, as the window during which Jim Buss promised to restore the Lakers to championship contention is set to close after the 2016-17 season. Jeanie Buss has alluded to her brother's self-imposed timeline on several occasions, saying Jim would resign if the Lakers failed to make it beyond the second round of the playoffs by next season.
Mark Medina: On @TWCSportsNet: Mitch Kupchak said "there wasn't one reason that led to decision not to extend Byron's contract."
Mark Medina: On @TWCSportsNet, James Worthy on Byron Scott's firing: "I thought maybe he would at least get until Feb to see if he can turn things around."
They also needed someone to indoctrinate members of the next generation of Laker stars — Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and D'Angelo Russell — into the daily grind of NBA life. Bryant wasn't emotionally available for that, there were no other strong veteran presences in the locker room, so Scott needed to play the bad guy, and he did it often and well. He was ripped repeatedly by fans and media for benching and publicly scolding the kids, right up until Russell was busted for videotaping private conversations with Nick Young in a record-setting act of immaturity.
Scott was hired to say goodbye to Bryant, and to rudely greet the future, and . . . to win? Seriously? Winning realistically was never part of the deal, and Lakers management even admitted as much earlier this season. It was decided that the team was going to cling to Bryant's fading glow for as long as it lasted, celebrate that glow, bask in that glow, and everything else was shadows.
Ramona Shelburne: Sources indicate Derek Fisher has interest in the Lakers job. Obviously Laker front office still compiling their list and gauging interest from potential candidates after Byron Scott wasn't retained Sunday night.
Zach Lowe: As @Adrian Wojnarowski has reported, Tom Thibodeau absolutely would have given the Lakers a look. Timing is everything in life.
Steve Kyler: Of the names being mentioned, league source say watch for Jeff Van Gundy & David Blatt, while Kevin Ollie and Jay Wright could get an offer
The Lakers met with Byron Scott twice this week, sources said, to discuss last year and philosophical issues going forward before making the decision not to pick up their option on him Sunday
Mark Medina: I'm told Byron had impression from Lakers through late last week that he would stay. That changed on Sunday night. bit.ly/1Qwyalx
Mark Medina: Just spoke with Larry Nance Jr., who said he was a "big fan" of Byron Scott & thanked him for the opportunities he received this year
Bill Oram: One Lakers player texted and said he "kinda saw the writing on wall" that Byron Scott was done. Must have Twitter.
