End of the Luke Walton Era?

[The Q]

No chance Walton survives this.

I hope he gets another opportunity in a better situation. Coaching LeBron is hard enough. Coaching LeBron with these misfits is damn near impossible.

the GM is more at fault than Walton.

Walton will easily land on his feet.

Magic screwed him over with this absurd roster compilation.

They're probably not getting Brow, trade for Bradley Beal and watch how this dynamic changes.

 

[flyerhawk]

the GM is more at fault than Walton.

Walton will easily land on his feet.

Magic screwed him over with this absurd roster compilation.

They're probably not getting Brow, trade for Bradley Beal and watch how this dynamic changes.

Trading for Bradley Beal only makes sense if they can get another All-Star via FA

 

[The Q]

Trading for Bradley Beal only makes sense if they can get another All-Star via FA

I think they get Cousins.

JMO though.

 

[ducky]

I think they get Cousins.

JMO though.

Cousins and Lebron together would be an epic disaster.

Lebron doesn't like it when over another or guard or wing dominates the ball. How's he going to get along with a center that wants to play PG?

 

[shopson67]

they gave Beasley the same contract that Lopez got in Milwaukee. Imagine if they just resign Lopez how much better that would have been.

They gave Rondo and KCP a combined 21 million dollars for this year.

Here are some guys that signed 1 year contracts last summer or small 2 year contracts:

Jamal Crawford- just over league min.
Vince Carter- barely over league min.
Harrell signed a 2 year deal but for a total of 12M
Wayne Ellington 6.5M
Mbah Moute- the guy who people have told me was SO important to the Rockets signed for 1 year 4.3M
Brook Lopez 1 year 3.4M
Tony Parker signed 2 years 10M...think how much better it would be if they gave that money to PArker instead of Rondo.
Amir Johnson- 1 year
Ray Felton 1 year 2.4
Jeff Green 1 year
Cousins - 1 year 5.3M
JJ Redick 1 year 12.5M
Elfrid Payton 1 year deal in NO
Nik Stauskas- 1 year league min.
Rudy Gay 1 year 10M

Imagine, if the Lakers, instead of paying Beasley, Rondo and KCP, instead chose to pay - i dunno- Brook Lopez, Jeff Green and Reddick? Or Ellington, Mbam Moute and Parker?

Nik Stauskas signle handedly beat the Lakers one game this season while he was with the Blazers...why not bring in a guy like that- even after he was cut a million times just to bomb threes and space for LeBron?

Magic and Pelinka really did not do a good job.

KCP was a package job with Lebron, as they share an agent. I could give a crap about Slopez; just because he's hitting some more 3s this year doesn't make me want him back. Many of the guys you listed re-signed for those contracts; they weren't looking to move.

The real problems with the Lakers are twofold: injuries and accelerated expectations. When the Lakers couldn't get their 2nd big contract player over the summer, they signed a bunch of 1 year holdover players. That right there should've pushed any lofty expectations to next season. Maybe they would make the playoffs, but no championship aspirations whatsoever. When Lebron misses a month or so after the Xmas game (along with Rondo), followed by the injury to Ball, their December momentum (and 4th place standing) went to crap and they have yet to recover. Of course, the AD pursuit was damaging to the team chemistry, but without Lonzo in the mix their defense was suffering terribly anyway. They were top 10 defensively with him, and bottom 5 without. That's not a coincidence.

 

[shopson67]

Lakers have a better chance at the #1 pick than making the playoffs.


A team with LeBron should not be in that situation... unless it's tanking.

I'd be fine with missing the playoffs and getting Zion or Barrett (or Ja). Sounds good.

 

[shopson67]

It's a combination of the three which is unfortunate for Luke Walton who will be blamed for the losing and be summarily dismissed.

Is he doing something that will be missed? His methods chased off Randle, who wanted out last summer and is excelling in New Orleans. The Lakers also shed Russell in a worthwhile trade, but he has emerged elsewhere doing more that what he could as a Laker as well. Players don't seem to be gelling as a unit with Walton, and maybe the guys who've heard him for 3 years now need a new message and voice. The question is, who? I don't want any Lebron flunkies. Lakers need someone who commands respect, but also will coach the modern NBA style.

 

[Montalban]

It ain't Walton's fault; its James' fault. He's expecting the other players to focus on defense while plays the hero role on offense and refuses to play defense

 

[trojanfan12]

Is he doing something that will be missed? His methods chased off Randle, who wanted out last summer and is excelling in New Orleans. The Lakers also shed Russell in a worthwhile trade, but he has emerged elsewhere doing more that what he could as a Laker as well. Players don't seem to be gelling as a unit with Walton, and maybe the guys who've heard him for 3 years now need a new message and voice. The question is, who? I don't want any Lebron flunkies. Lakers need someone who commands respect, but also will coach the modern NBA style.

Funny that you talk about the injuries in one post as why the Lakers have struggled. But don't want to allow that for Luke.

Luke didn't drive off Randle, the fact that he wasn't going to be a big part of what they were doing going forward and the need for cap space is what pushed out Randle.

Same thing with Russell. Luke didn't trade him. The Lakers had to unload the Mozgov contract and Russell was the cost of that.

Luke also, wasn't the one who killed team chemistry with the AD debacle.

And before you bring up rotations. When Lebron, Rondo, Ball and Kuzma have missed a combined 54 games and now Ingram was out for at least one. How is he supposed to settle on a rotation?

When the Lakers were sitting in the #4 spot, no one was complaining about Luke's coaching.

Luke is probably going to take the fall for this, but it's not close to his fault.

 

[Shanemansj13]

The entire FO needs to be fired. What a disaster. They get the best player and then they completely fuck it up

 

[Shanemansj13]

It ain't Walton's fault; its James' fault. He's expecting the other players to focus on defense while plays the hero role on offense and refuses to play defense

You have no idea what you are talking about. Do you know how many open looks he gets his teammates? lol

 

[shopson67]

Funny that you talk about the injuries in one post as why the Lakers have struggled. But don't want to allow that for Luke.

Luke didn't drive off Randle, the fact that he wasn't going to be a big part of what they were doing going forward and the need for cap space is what pushed out Randle.

Same thing with Russell. Luke didn't trade him. The Lakers had to unload the Mozgov contract and Russell was the cost of that.

Luke also, wasn't the one who killed team chemistry with the AD debacle.

And before you bring up rotations. When Lebron, Rondo, Ball and Kuzma have missed a combined 54 games and now Ingram was out for at least one. How is he supposed to settle on a rotation?

When the Lakers were sitting in the #4 spot, no one was complaining about Luke's coaching.

Luke is probably going to take the fall for this, but it's not close to his fault.

I didn't blame Luke for Russell being traded. I noted that he blossomed under a different coach. Randle was most definitely put out by being benched by Walton last year, and that was a factor in his decision to want out.

In terms of rotations, Luke needs a quicker hook for struggling players. This isn't a teaching opportunity kind of team anymore; get guys out there that aren't struggling. Too many times I've seen guys like Lance out there disrupting the offense with bad plays and decisions for long stretches without getting subbed out.

I'm not singling out Luke for blame; I'm just curious as to what people think he is doing that will be missed if he is let go? I'm not seeing a lot of positive imprint on this team.

 

[shopson67]

The entire FO needs to be fired. What a disaster. They get the best player and then they completely fuck it up

The offseason was fine. When they didn't get their big targets, they pushed to next summer. The handling of the AD fiasco at the trade deadline was awful. Too many names in the media and came off looking too desperate. This is where they needed a veteran personnel guy, at least as a consultant, to help steady the ship. Mitch Kupchak never made a mess of things with his trade efforts (unless you want to blame him for the vetoed CP3 trade, which wasn't his fault). Mitch paid too high a price for listening to his boss (Jimmy Buss) and should've been kept around.

 

[trojanfan12]

I noted that he blossomed under a different coach.

He started his improvement with Luke. It was Luke that moved him to 2 guard towards the end of the season.

Randle was most definitely put out by being benched by Walton last year, and that was a factor in his decision to want out.

That was on Randle and he played better after his benching. If he can't take being benched because he wasn't playing as well, then we don't want him anyway.

In terms of rotations, Luke needs a quicker hook for struggling players. This isn't a teaching opportunity kind of team anymore; get guys out there that aren't struggling. Too many times I've seen guys like Lance out there disrupting the offense with bad plays and decisions for long stretches without getting subbed out.

With all of the injuries, he hasn't had much choice. Guys have been forced into bigger roles and more minutes than they were expected to play. If you noticed, when there are more healthy bodies, Lance doesn't play a lot.

I'm not singling out Luke for blame; I'm just curious as to what people think he is doing that will be missed if he is let go? I'm not seeing a lot of positive imprint on this team.

Again, how is he supposed to have a positive imprint when he doesn't know who he's going to have available and when.

I've seen people say Luke should be fired. But I have yet to see anyone say who is both better and available.

There are obvious problems with this team, Luke is not one of them. He'll likely take the fall, but he's not the problem.

 

[shopson67]

I've seen people say Luke should be fired. But I have yet to see anyone say who is both better and available.

There are obvious problems with this team, Luke is not one of them. He'll likely take the fall, but he's not the problem.

That is the bigger issue IMO. Who replaces him? No codgers or Lebron cronies please.

Luke may not be the problem, but he's not really helping to overcome that problem either. He may not be the right guy to deal with Lebron and the resulting cast of characters.

 

[trojanfan12]

That is the bigger issue IMO. Who replaces him? No codgers or Lebron cronies please.

Luke may not be the problem, but he's not really helping to overcome that problem either. He may not be the right guy to deal with Lebron and the resulting cast of characters.

That's the problem though. If they fire Luke, it will almost certainly be a Lebron crony. Apparently, there's like an 80% chance that Lue will be the new coach if Luke gets fired.

 

[shopson67]

That's the problem though. If they fire Luke, it will almost certainly be a Lebron crony. Apparently, there's like an 80% chance that Lue will be the new coach if Luke gets fired.

Where do those odds come from? Certainly not the Lakers front office, who continue to claim Luke is safe. The media is just swarming all over the Lakers and is apparently making up shit, lol.

 

[trojanfan12]

Where do those odds come from? Certainly not the Lakers front office, who continue to claim Luke is safe. The media is just swarming all over the Lakers and is apparently making up shit, lol.

I don't know if Vegas has odd on it (wouldn't surprise me), or what. But just about every commentator I've heard has said that Luke is out at the end of the season and that Lue is the odds on favorite to get the job. It was Cowherd who said he heard 80% chance for Lue.

The same commentators also say that Luke doesn't deserve to be fired, so maybe they are just trying to have it both ways.

The only things I've heard from the Lakers is when Jeanie said "Luke is our coach" and an announcement that there have been zero discussions about firing Luke.

 

[SideSwipe52]

Here is what you get with LeBron. Drama and coaches getting fired.

I'm starting to think that a number of star to superstar players do not want to play with LeBron. The Lakers should have stayed the course and stayed away from LeBron. I maybe eating crow down the road, but at this point that's how I see it. I don't see LeBron, even with some help, delivering another title to LA.

 

[raptorlife4]

walton is the scapegoat

if the lakers were smart they would ship james out