There has been nothing but excitement since Luke Walton was hired as the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Golden State Warriors assistant was viewed as the Lakers’ top choice and his youth and energy will almost certainly be an improvement for the team.
More importantly, Walton will bring a schematic change to the Lakers. After two years of playing isolation-heavy basketball on the offensive end of the court, the Lakers will benefit from their new coach’s experience on the Warriors’ coaching staff. From all accounts, Luke is planning to bring in that offensive system and style of play to implement in Los Angeles.
As expected, the young guys seem to be as excited about next season as the fans are. Jordan Clarkson embodied that sense when he went on Power 106 for a radio interview and spoke about his expectations offensively under Walton. (h/t Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen and Roll)
“I think it’s dope. It fits us really well. We’ve got a lot of guys that can do a lot of things: Julius [Randle], D’Angelo [Russell], Larry Nance, including myself. So I think it’s something we should be excited for.”
Clarkson also mentions that Walton called all of the young guys one-by-one after his hiring was made official to speak to them about his goals and expectations.
This is obviously a great sign. Before any on-court interaction between Walton and the core of his new team, the young guys seem to have already bought into what he will bring with him to Los Angeles.
After three straight years of mostly miserable basketball, two of which were witnessed first-hand by Jordan Clarkson, it’s no wonder that the Lakers are ready to take a step forward. It will undoubtedly be a long process before the team is anywhere near contending once again, but as it stands now, there are plenty of things to be getting excited about. Luke Walton’s “dope” offense is just one of them.
