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 Despite being tasked with an unenviable rebuilding job, it is an
opportunity he felt he could hardly turn down.
Currently in his second season as assistant coach at the reigning
NBA champion Golden State Warriors, Walton was confirmed as Byron
Scott's replacement on Friday.
Scott was ditched after the Lakers went 17-65 in the
recently-completed season, otherwise known as the Kobe Bryant
farewell tour.
Walton, 36, the son of former NBA Most Valuable Player Bill Walton,
will be the 26th head coach in Lakers history, and the 22nd since
the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1960.
He played 564 regular season games during a decade-long career that
included eight seasons and two championships with the Lakers.
 "We're excited to bring Luke back to Los Angeles, where we feel he's
going to start an outstanding coaching career," Lakers general
manager Mitch Kupchak said in a statement.
Walton will remain with Golden State for the remainder of the
playoffs with a Western Conference second round series looming after
they dispatched the Houston Rockets in five games to start the
post-season.
Walton was in charge of the team for the first 43 games this season
while head coach Steve Kerr recovered from back surgery, helping
them make an NBA record 24-0 start to the campaign.
Once Kerr recovered, he led the team to the league's best ever
overall season record of 73-9.
FOREVER GRATEFUL
"I loved everything about my time at Golden State and learning from
Steve (Kerr)," Walton said in a statement.
"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."
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Kerr expressed support for Walton's decision.
"I'm incredibly happy for Luke," Kerr said.
"As we witnessed earlier this season, he has all of the intangibles
necessary to be an outstanding head coach in this league, including
a terrific understanding of the game."
Walton will take over a proud franchise that has plummeted down the
standings over the past three seasons.
The Lakers, whose 16 NBA titles is second only to the Boston Celtics
(17), for many years were the league's most glamorous team, as well
as one of its most successful, dazzling fans with a fast-paced
run-and-gun style that became known as "Showtime".
Their precipitous slide coincided with the decline of legendary
guard Bryant, who retired on April 14 at the age of 37.
After going 45-37 in 2012-13, the Lakers won only 27 games the
following season, which prompted the firing of then-coach Mike
D'Antoni.
Scott took over in July 2014 but lasted just two years as the team
continued to regress, going 21-61 in his first campaign before
breaking that franchise record for futility in the recently
completed season.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by John
O'Brien)
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