The Lakers announced Friday they have added 4 coaches to Luke Walton’s staff. Three of the coaches are new hires while the 4th was an internal promotion from the defenders. The team also hired a video coordinator. From the team’s press release:
The Los Angeles Lakers announced today that the team has hired Jud Buechler, Brian Keefe, and Theo Robertson as player development coaches on Head Coach Luke Walton’s staff, joining associate head coach Brian Shaw and assistant coaches Jesse Mermuys and Mark Madsen. Additionally, it was announced that Casey Owens has been named assistant coach/advance professional scout and Will Scott has been named to the staff as video coordinator.
Owens takes on the most prominent role here, moving up from the head man on the D-Fenders to an assistant and advanced scout under Walton. Owens time with the D-Fenders can only be considered a great success, with his team appearing in the D-League Finals this past season. Owens is considered a smart offensive coach who relates well to players, offering encouragement and building their confidence in the process.
As for the others, Buechler has background as a player, of course, playing as a SF on the Bulls under Phil Jackson. He also played for several other teams during his 12 year NBA career, but is most known as a solid, if mostly bit, rotation player on the second 3-peat team from 1996-98. He has a coaching history as well, but in high school volleyball where he coached his daughter before she went on to play at UCLA.
Robertson comes to the Lakers from the Warriors where he served as a video intern before moving into player development. Robertson was also a standout college player, but a hip injury ended his goals of playing professionally. Since then he’s worked at his alma mater Cal and, as mentioned, in Oakland under Steve Kerr and with Walton. If you’re interested in learning more on Robertson, this profile is a good place to start.
Of all the hires, however, it is Keefe who might actually intrigue me the most. Not only does he have a history in ball/player movement offenses (the Knicks did, sorta, run the Triangle), but his time in Oklahoma City had him working in player development while Kevin Durant was with the team. The Lakers, as you know, have a guy who some people (fairly or not) have compared to the former Thunder/current Warrior star. I’m interested in learning about how much, if any, direct involvement Keefe will with Ingram and whether he can share any of routines/drills/training techniques which helped shape Durant into what he became.
Ultimately, my biggest takeaway isn’t just what any single coach brings to the equation but what all can do to add to the culture and positive direction of the team. All of them have good background in teaching and extensive histories in the game as coaches and/or players. Combine them with the staff already in place and this looks to be a good group which looks like it can help Walton push this group of young players and veterans forward.
jvilomar says
Do yo see what’s the trend behind the staff hire? Almost all of them are known for their way how they aporoach to the personnel.
ED 10 says
With a young core,player development and shooting coaches are keys to future success.
DonFord says
Just the sheer NUMBER of hires is interesting.
I’m not the most knowledgeable and I’m mostly referring back a few summers when the Lakers let go scads of scouts and coaches, so I may be missing the boat for my lack of facts/context.
But in that light anyway, this strikes me as an interesting level of commitment. Totally appropriate, naturally, but a difference from the approach of that other summer.
Clay Bertrand says
jvilomar
Safe to say we won’t hear THESE coaches saying the team is “SOFT” and needs to “MAN UP” every post game interview……….Modern effective coaches are not dictators anymore.
The new approach is more teaching and nurturing the players. This could well be the natural evolution because players are coming in younger these days than they used to 30 years ago. A coach cannot simply be a leader of men; but he must also be able to be a teacher of boys.
MT87 says
One thing I’m going to be interested in seeing next year is the contrast in styles between Walton and Thibs on two very young and promising squads. Thibs is an unquestioned defensive genius but his style and temperament are much closer to Byron Scott than to laid-back Luke. Walton has a much shorter resume as a coach but he seems much less likely to wear down a squad as the years go by.
Clay Bertrand says
MT87
Agreed. It will be
very interesting indeed to contrast these two teams and coaches going
forward. Minnesota is going more
traditional and Old School for sure with Thibs.
I doubt we would EVER see Thibs in Manhattan Beach playing volleyball in
the sand! Luke is like a breath of fresh
air for us and even more so for the players I would think. Thibs while fairly hard-nosed, is a really good
coach with a strong emerging talent base that appears to be a jump ahead of the
Lakers young core in their development.
The Wolves may show improvement earlier than the Lakers but in the
coming years, these two teams will be on the same progression arc for the most
part barring a huge FA signing in LA next summer. If nothing else, Minny will be a good
measuring stick by which to gauge our progress.
They could well end up being our nemesis in the Western Conference
should both teams maximize their full potentials.
MT87 says
Durant is draining 3’s from way behind the line in the gold medal game. Serbia was playing great defense, but there isn’t much defense to be had against Durant going supernova. Scary good.
J C hoops says
Towns will make Thibs look even smarter than he already is.
Renato Afonso says
Serbia missed some bunnies and Durant couldn’t miss. That was the game. I didn’t enjoy the USA level of play in Rio. They had the intensity but relied too much on individual prowess…
LT Mitchell says
There is nobody on the Lakers with even close to the potential of Towns. Ingram might have the most potential on this team, but if he becomes close to the type of two way player in year 2 that Wiggins has already become, I would be ecstatic. Kris Dunn is another player who has elite two way potential.
If Laker fans are going to gauge the success of the young players by making comparisons to Minnesota’s young players, they are going to be in a world of hurt. If the Lakers want to keep pace with Minnesota in the coming years, it will have to be through free agency or trades.
Still R says
J C hoops True. I’d rank Minny well ahead of LA in talent. The Lakers have some nice young players with promise. The Wolves have the real deal in KAT, right now. Wiggins as well is superior to anybody the Lakers can put on the floor.
Still R says
LT Mitchell Yes indeed.
KevTheBold says
The Lakers have supposedly made a deal with summer league’s Zack Auguste, the power forward.
I assume it’s summer camp deal, though who knows these days.
When are they going to sign Ingram I wonder?
MT87 says
KevTheBold I liked Auguste in summer league. He brought great energy and I’m glad the FO is giving him another look. That said, I don’t expect him to be on the final squad.
The lack of any indication of when Ingram will get signed is perplexing, but still only a matter of time.
J C hoops says
Precisely. Towns and Wiggins, and I personally really like Zach Lavine. The Lakers are a year away from either improving dramatically, if their young core develops well, or changing horses.
KevTheBold says
MT87
Thanks bro. You are probably right.
I just hope that they are keeping Ingram and family in the loop.
Vasheed says
KevTheBold
I liked Auguste in the summer league. I would imagine if nothing else he could be assigned to the d-league. Somehow even if the Lakers let every PF go they wind up with at least 5 power forwards the next season. Perhaps they should rename the Lakers as Power Forwards R Us.
KevTheBold says
Vasheed
Lol !
matt24 says
My understanding is that the yi contract is not guaranteed
JuanJ says
Boy, it seems as though our Purple & Gold sails are billowing enough now for my own optimism, & ol´ die-hard Laker elán, to allow itself to get a tad giddy about what´s around the corner for the team, and all of us too!!
Here´s to great success to Luke and his coaching staff.
matt24 says
Hoopshabit article 5 free agents the lakers could still sign.
J.r smith, lance Stephenson, montiejunes, ndiaye, xavier henry
I found this comical
Clay Bertrand says
LT Mitchell
No one said the comparison between the Lakers young core and the Wolves young core would be 100% indicative of the Lakers necessarily being BETTER than the Wolves. But the Wolves, the Lakers and the Sixers all have a massive youth movement currently in the works. It makes sense to look at your peers in gauging your growth in this respect.
Of the three teams, the Lakers have LOST THE LEAST. The Lakers don’t have the multiple Tankcentric assets of the Sixers. Likewise, they do not possess Minnesota’s Kevin Love haul (Wiggins +) coupled with the long list of Lottery picks that have resulted from them being a perennially CRAPPY team.
Further, neither the Wolves nor the Sixers had Kobe Bryant last season taking away from the development and showcasing of their Young Talent bases. The Wolves were developing. The Sixers were RETANKING. The Lakers were doing a little of both while also doing the KOBE Farewell Tour. IOW Serving too many masters; working too many differing agendas.
This is going to be the year we see the Lakers youth movement take hold. Same for the Sixers. Minnesota started two years ago so of course, they are ahead plus they have some great pieces. KAT is just touching the surface and Dunn is gonna be really good up there for them. REALLY GOOD.
The Lakers still have infinite head room for improvement of their young guys so we will see this season what we have.
Clay Bertrand says
Damn!!! I KNEW the FO was gonna blow all of our available money AND THEN all of a sudden, a GREAT FA option would come about and we’d be out of the running………
We could use this guy again!!!!
http://www.interperformances.com/basket/news_detail.php?id=1806
BRING BACK THE CAKE THIEF!!!!!!!!
Still R says
Clay, you had me all excited – for a minute I thought Smush was available.
Clay Bertrand says
Still R
Lol…….I’m a pretty open and notorious Andrew Goudelock fan myself. Seriously…… lol
Mid Wilshire says
Yi Jianlian signed with the Lakers today. Below is an excerpt from Broderick Turner’s article in the Los Angeles Times:
“The contract for Yi is one year at the veteran’s minimum of $1.13 million that could reach as high as $8 million this season if he reaches several wide-ranging incentive bonuses in the deal.
“Yi, 28, who was drafted sixth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2007, last played in the NBA for the Dallas Mavericks during the 2011-12 season.
“He had been playing in China since then for Guangdong.
“During the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Yi averaged 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and shot 46.7% from three-point range in five games.
“The 6-foot-11, 243-pound Yi averaged 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game over the five years he played in the NBA.”