Luke Walton Fired: Possible Replacements for Lakers Coach

After months of speculation, the Los Angeles Lakers announced they would be firing head coach Luke Walton after 3 seasons. Despite adding LeBron James to the roster this past season, the former Warriors assistant could not make the playoffs during his tenure, recording a 98-148 record.

“We would like to thank Luke for his dedicated service over the last three years,” said Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka. “We wish Luke and his family the best of luck moving forward.”

“I want to thank Jeanie Buss and the Buss family for giving me the opportunity to coach the Lakers,” said Walton in a statement. “This franchise and the city will always be special to me and my family.”

Almost immediately after the announcement, the speculation began on his replacement. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the favorite is former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue.

Lue took over mid-season to lead the James and the Cavaliers to the franchise’s first NBA title in 2016. He guided the team to 2 straight NBA Finals after that, both swift losses to the Warriors.

His familiarity with James is certainly an asset, who was seen by some as a disruptive force on the Lakers this past season. James has publicly said he has “nothing but respect” for Lue.

“He put us in position to win, he put us in position to succeed,” James said. “And more importantly, he gave—all the onus was on the players. He gave us the responsibility to go out and do what we needed to do to win ball games. And that led us to—while he was at the helm—three Eastern Conference Finals, three Finals, one championship.”

The odds-on favorite to take over as of last week was Miami Heat assistant Juwan Howard. He has never seen head coaching experience, as he serves a role as a player developer and a sort of defensive coordinator for the Heat.

Christian Rivas of SB Nation covers his credentials (or lack thereof) for such a high-profile gig.

Hired by the Heat almost immediately after he retired in 2013, Howard got his coaching career started in player development. Almost six years later, Howard is still working in player development and also serves as the team’s defensive coordinator. The Heat have a had a top-10 ranked defense in each of the last three seasons, and are currently ranked seventh in the league in defensive rating.

Harrison Faigen of SB Nation also talked about how Howard, a former teammate of James and also Pelinka during their collegiate careers at Michigan, would get immediate buy-in from the superstar.

“Also, let’s say Howard has a similar resume to Luke,” Faigen tweeted, “but the main difference is that LeBron buys in. That’s not nothing! It probably shouldn’t be the main reason to hire a coach, but it certainly shouldn’t work against them.”

Lue is probably the more logical option. He has the head coaching experience, previous success and the connection to James. Howard likely needs time as a main assistant or coach at a smaller franchise before tackling the rapid Los Angeles market.

Chris Broussard of Fox Sports also suggested that former Nets and Bucks coach Jason Kidd, as well as former Warriors coach Mark Jackson, are backup candidates.

Kidd couldn’t build a consistent winner in Milwaukee, as his replacement Mike Budenholzer brought the franchise to the next level (No. 1 in the Eastern Conference) this season.

Jackson, on the other hand, built Golden State for future success, bringing the long-troubled Warriors to 2 straight playoffs in 2013 and 2014 after just one postseason appearance in 15 seasons.

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