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Walton was young in his coaching career at that time, but now over a decade into coaching he admits there are some things he would change if he could go back: “There’s a lot that I’ve learned on this journey. When I first got that Lakers job I had only been coaching for two years up there with Golden State and there’s just a lot of different things since then that I understand and different situations that I’ve been in. It’s like anything, even when you’re a player, hopefully continuing to grow and understand the game more and it’s the same with coaching. So yeah, to answer your question Matt, there’s a lot I’d do different and there’s a lot I’ve learned since then.”
Christie has long-standing ties to the organization, going back to being a starter on those iconic teams of the early 2000s under Adelman. Christie has done a solid job the past few months since taking over for Brown. Christie will likely get a look to remain as coach, but Ranadive has repeatedly hired big names over the past decade -- including George Karl, Dave Joerger, Luke Walton and Brown -- so there's certainly a chance he pursues a bigger name this summer.
Omari Sankofa II: Blazers will honor Bill Walton tonight with Luke Walton in attendance on the Pistons’ bench. JB Bickerstaff: “I hope our guys appreciate and understand how important Bill Walton was to the game and to the world … it wasn’t just his basketball game that made him unique.”
Barnes spent the 2019 offseason working on his move with then-Kings assistant Noah LaRoche, but it took a while to perfect. Barnes broke it out occasionally but not nearly as often as he has the past two seasons in San Antonio. He was still figuring out how to apply it in live action. “We just worked on that move, just tried to manipulate it, different ways to mix up the variability of the shot,” Barnes said. One of the first times he broke it out in a game, ironically, was against his old coach in 2019-20. “One time in Cleveland I did it on a break, and like three people ran by, and [former Kings coach] Luke Walton was assistant coach at the time and was screaming for a travel,” Barnes said. “I went right by him and said, ‘You’ve seen this move before!'”
NBA player turned coach Luke Walton has just sold his home in Manhattan Beach, California, for $10.3 million. The seven-bedroom property changed hands earlier this month, right ahead of Walton’s debut as lead assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons, who are playing their second game of the regular season Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers—where Walton was previously a coach.
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On Monday, the Pistons announced that Luke Walton, Sidney Lowe, Fred Vinson, Vitaly Potapenko, Kevin Burleson, Jerome Allen, and Josh Estes will serve as assistant coaches under J.B. Bickerstaff, who is entering his first year in Detroit.
Sean Highkin: The Blazers announce that March 9’s game against Detroit will be dedicated to celebrating Bill Walton. (Worth noting: his son Luke is an assistant coach with the Pistons, so he’ll be there)
Shams Charania: The Detroit Pistons are hiring Luke Walton as the lead assistant on new head coach JB Bickerstaff’s staff, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Walton spent the last two years as an assistant in Cleveland after five-plus seasons as head coach of Lakers and Kings.
According to league sources, Brown’s contract with the team was for three seasons with a mutual option for a fourth year. He is set to make less than $5 million this season and with rising coaching salaries around the league, the fourth year option wasn’t exercised. It should also be noted that Brown’s current salary is less per year than the Kings paid their previous head coach, Luke Walton.
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Of the players in his NBA debut game, James is the only one still in the league. Of the players in his draft class, only James remains in the league as a player. Some of his draft class peers moved into coaching (New Orleans’ Willie Green and Luke Walton), the front office (Phoenix’s James Jones, Atlanta’s Kyle Korver), part ownership and other endeavors (Utah's Dwyane Wade) and wine making (Carmelo Anthony). "The thing that’s most impressive is his ability to do it all again the next day – not just playing the games but doing the work to play games," said Korver, who played until he was 38 and was James' teammate in Cleveland during three seasons.
Chris Fedor: Here is some more from #Cavs Evan Mobley, going thru some pick-and-pop stuff with assistant coach Luke Walton. That shooting stroke is looking better and better every day. pic.twitter.com/XNlXDTQ56t
Here is some more from #Cavs Evan Mobley, going thru some pick-and-pop stuff with assistant coach Luke Walton. That shooting stroke is looking better and better every day. pic.twitter.com/XNlXDTQ56t
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) October 11, 2022
ESPN says Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Artis Gilmore, World B. Free, Robert Parish, Jim Gray, Luke Walton, Jamal Wilkes, Brent Musberger, and Bob Ryan have all been interview subjects for the story. The documentary will be directed by Steve James, who also directed Hoop Dreams, as well as Abacus: Small Enough to Jail. No release date was revealed by ESPN.
Speaking on Bleacher Report's "Open Run" podcast Wednesday, the new Lakers coach told a story about his playing days with Bryant. “I remember one time my rookie year, I came in a little — uh, (Bryant) and Shaq like to do this as, I think it was just rookies, but any young guy — I probably had too much to drink the night before, so I came in, I was a rookie, I felt good, and they could smell some alcohol on me. And Kobe informed the rest of the team that no one was allowed to help me on defense, and that I had to guard him the entire practice.
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