When reports surfaced that Magic Johnson (LA Lakers current President) "admonished" Luke Walton for poor performance at the start of the season come speculations that management may perceive the head coach to be not up to his job. Many say that it is quite unfair to judge Walton this early of the season, we cannot also blame the management or in this case, Magic Johnson, who is so used in winning to assess quickly if Luke Walton is really fit for the job.
While almost all of the people I know have no doubt in Walton's capacity to coach an NBA team, many of them may suspect his skill in handling a just assembled row of talents and transform them to become a championship contender in the NBA. Magic Johnson is just quick to point out the things that need to get done to implement the vision they've had in forming the team with LeBron James as its core.
Many also say that we cannot really blame Walton for their poor performance as he is just being presented with a roster that may not complement each other after all. A nice article inside Scorum was written by @mateonav53 that address their big man problem may resolve this issue.
While it is a given that Luke Walton is still experimenting or just in the process of perfecting the plays right for the Lakers right now many criticized him for the Lakers' lack of emphasis in defense (currently ranked 25th) and for the fast-paced type of games that are widely acknowledged as not suitable or too much for LeBron James and for most of the veterans on the team. Also, Luke Walton, is being blamed for the rotation of players he implemented that may have caused of the many endgame collapses.
A healthy discussion on this topic was presented on this video, and I think it is a healthy discussion to fairly express each side and leave us to ourselves how we should think Lakers coaching future should be handled.
As to me, I would say that it would be better to give at least 3 more months to officially assess and for the upper management to judge if Luke Walton is indeed up for the Lakers head coaching job on the long-term or not. I would also say that it is but right that he is aptly reminded (this early) for him to be on his toes and apply the needed changes and transform this team to a Championship caliber organization.
What about you? What do you think? Will Luke Walton deserve to maintain his job as Lakers head coach or not? Post your comment below and let us hear what you think.
Comments