NBA Rumors: Golden State Warriors Gave Permission to LA Lakers to Interview Luke Walton Regarding Head Coaching Job

By Jenn Loro - 29 Apr '16 14:20PM

Golden State Warriors' top brass have recently granted Los Angeles Lakers the permission to interview the team's assistant coach Luke Walton as part of the franchise's search for the next head coach following the purple and gold team's worst-record performance in its NBA history under Byron Scott's stewardship on the court.

Now that Scott is officially off the roster, the Lakers have been actively seeking for suitable replacement who could turn things around for the next season. Walton was product of Phil Jackson's coaching tree and apparently honed his mentoring skills under the Zen Master's tutelage while playing for the team in 2003 and 2012.

He guided the team to a 39-4 record while serving as temporary head coach as he awaited for Steve Kerr to come back from his back surgery. Even though his brief stint as head coach was temporary, it was quite enough to get other teams interested in what he could bring to the table.

Steve Kerr, who was recently honored as the league's Coach of the Year, confirmed just before Warriors' upsetting Game 5 victory over Houston Rockets that Lakers can meet up with Walton after the series.

"We told Mitch that he's perfectly welcome to talk to Luke as soon as the series is over and we have a little break," the Warriors head coach said as quoted by ESPN.

As per LA Times, Lakers is also setting its eyes on San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina. Like Walton, Messina is also waiting to meet with LA Lakers top management in between the playoff breaks.

After San Antonio's sweeping victory over Memphis in the series opener, Messina has since been under LA's talent radar. The Spurs assistant also had ties with Lakers before as a coaching consultant for ex-LA coach Mike Brown. Like Walton, Messina also came from a reputable and globalist-oriented coaching pedigree- Gregg Popovich.

But will Walton stay in San Antonio and head for Los Angeles?

For now, Walton remains tight-lipped and avoided discussing anything related to coach openings to keep unnecessary distractions at bay.

"I love my job here. I absolutely love it. I love the playoff battles that we're in right now. We've got prep work to do. Every bit of focus right now should be on the playoffs," said Walton, Mercury News reported.

"So any questions I'm asked about anything else is a distraction in my opinion, and then I'm being selfish. So I'm not answering anything about anything except for our team and the playoffs."