Former Los Angeles Lakers player and two-time NBA champion Luke Walton has been regaining his position in the league. With the hire of new head coach JB Bickerstaff, the Detroit Pistons have elevated Walton to the position of lead assistant coach. Throughout the past ten years, Walton has been in and out of coaching positions. He was an assistant coach with the Warriors from 2014 to 2016, and he was the team’s interim head coach when Steve Kerr was out with an injury in 2015–16.
After that, Walton departed to take over as head coach of the Sacramento Kings from 2019 to 2020 and the Los Angeles Lakers from 2016 to 2019. The problem is that Walton never made it to the playoffs with either team and was eventually fired after posting records of 98-148 (.398) with the Lakers and 68-93 (.422) with the Kings. Some of Walton’s former players continued to belittle him even in later years.
Watton has subsequently restored some of his renown through his two seasons as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers under Bickerstaff. Now he’ll be joining Bickerstaff in Detroit, where he’ll serve as the Pistons’ No. 2 assistant coach. The franchise has been busy adding players this offseason.
The Orlando Magic have re-signed Jonathan Isaac to a long-term contract, although the player will be subject to certain team protections. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports that the Los Angeles Clippers are considering a possible sign-and-trade for free agency guard Tyus Jones, suggesting that the team may keep rearranging its deck chairs. Aside from that, New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson researched previous dynasties before signing a new contract, and Kyle Juszczyk has been quite forthright about taking a pay cut this offseason.
