For all the change that has been happening in the Lakers’ front office, the team is also transitioning in a new way this year: they are opening a new practice facility. The announcement came last season with a ground breaking and virtual tour of what the new space would look like taking place earlier this year.
It’s all very exciting stuff and one of several ways the organization is beginning to leverage their deep pockets and stature as an LA institution (the team partnered with UCLA health to build the facility) to improve the outlook and trajectory of the franchise.
With construction nearly complete, the team put Mike Trudell in a hardhat, dispatched a camera crew, and took us inside the space for a tour. It looks as impressive in person as the list of amenities would imply:
?: @LakersReporter takes us on a tour of the @UCLAHealthTC and showcases its many features. #TeamUCLALakers pic.twitter.com/4LsdZFMOGh
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) May 8, 2017
The Lakers clearly want to make this space be a place the players want to be beyond just as the location they’re reporting to work on the days between games. Which, in turn, certainly ties into the “family” and “fun” environment Luke Walton and the new front office are trying to cultivate. As Walton has said multiple times, he wants the players to want to come to work; to want to come to the facility and put in the work needed to improve.
Beyond this, though, is the simple fact that the Lakers look to have constructed a world class facility for their players, coaches, training staff, etc to work in. And while this is only one piece of the puzzle, it is a tangible one which aides in the idea of this being a transition to a new era for the organization which can, hopefully, assist in spring-boarding them back into a position where they are recognized as being a top flight franchise.