Lakers News: Updates on Luke Walton, D'Angelo Russell, Injuries and More
Even in a rebuilding season, the Los Angeles Lakers are always in the NBA headlines as one of the marquee franchises in the sport.
Head coach Luke Walton reflected on his days as a Memphis Tigers assistant when the Lakers visited the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, injuries have held Los Angeles back from serving as a dark-horse contender in the early going and some are wondering whether Luol Deng fits on the roster.
With that in mind, here is a closer look at some of the recent news surrounding the Purple and Gold.
Luke Walton Did Not Like NCAA Rulebook
The Lakers lost Saturday's game to the Grizzlies, 103-100, but Walton turned some heads off the court when he discussed his four-month stint as an assistant coach at Memphis under Josh Pastner.
According to Mark Medina of the Orange County Register, the NCAA mandated Walton could work with players for just 30 minutes twice a week. While the coach called it a "good experience," he felt limited, per Medina:
"I didn't get to spend as much time working with the players as I would have liked. A lot of it was spending it in the office, recruiting and things like that. It was a good experience to see that side of it. But as far as working with the younger guys, I don't think how it's set up right now is best for a lot of these young players.
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Walton added, "You're not going to tell a doctor in med school he can only study 30 minutes twice a week."
The coach said the "other stuff" beyond just working with the players on the court helped him realize the NBA was probably a better fit, which is likely welcome news for Lakers fans enjoying the team's resurgence in his first season on the sidelines.
Los Angeles forward Tarik Black played for that Memphis team and averaged 10.7 points per game in 2011-12. The Tigers finished an impressive 26-9 and were ranked as high as No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. They won the Conference USA title but lost to St. Louis in their first NCAA tournament game.
While Walton didn't like the restrictions in place, his time with Memphis at least gave him valuable coaching experience before he won the Western Conference Coach of the Month award in November 2015 as the interim head coach for the Golden State Warriors. He also has the Lakers off to a 10-14 start after they finished an abysmal 17-65 last season.
Lakers Slowly Returning to Health
The Lakers would likely be better than 10-14 if it wasn't for injury issues permeating the roster. They started 10-10, but their Wednesday loss to the Houston Rockets marked their fourth defeat in a row.
The team recently announced some welcome news on the injury front, tweeting that Nick Young and D'Angelo Russell returned to practice Thursday. However, it said the two sharpshooters, as well as Black and Jose Calderon, were still out for Friday's game against the Phoenix Suns.
Russell has been out with a sore knee that required a platelet-rich plasma injection. Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times said she heard the target date for the guard's return is Monday against the Sacramento Kings.
Young suffered a strained right calf on Nov. 29, and the Lakers announced Calderon will miss two to four weeks with a hamstring strain. Black sprained his ankle Monday.
There are few teams in the NBA that could thrive with that much attrition, and the Lakers weren't expected to be realistic postseason contenders in 2016-17 in the first place. Young has provided an offensive boost with 13.3 points per game behind 41.4 percent shooting from three-point range, and Calderon has served as a veteran stabilizer on a team full of young potential.
While the Lakers have missed their presence, as well as Black's 5.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, it is more important Russell returns quickly so he can continue developing alongside some of the other young playmakers on the roster.
Despite their solid start, this season was never truly about contending for the Lakers. It is far more essential that Russell, Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram, Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson continue to garner valuable court time together as the blossoming core.
As long as Russell is sidelined, a critical piece of the group that could one day lead Los Angeles back into contention will be missing.
Speculation Surrounding Potential Luol Deng Trade
One piece who likely isn't part of that future core is 31-year-old Luol Deng.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com said Deng is "struggling to find his niche among all the Lakers' youth and pace" in the first of four years on his $72 million contract. Stein added, "Who knows what sort of market would await the Lakers even if they tried to trade him, but the topic seems unlikely to fade."
Deng has logged 847 career games at 35 minutes a night for the Lakers, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls. He never averaged fewer than the 11.7 points per game he posted as a rookie in Chicago in 2004-05, but he is tallying a measly 6.6 points a night in 2016-17 behind 33.7 percent shooting from the field and 28.3 percent shooting from deep.
He hasn't been the same player he was in his prime and is taking away minutes from younger pieces who are more integral to Los Angeles' rebuilding efforts.
While Stein was speculating a trade could eventually happen and didn't suggest any landing spots, Deng is a playoff-tested veteran with 62 postseason games on his resume. He is also a physical and versatile defender who was a member of the 2011-12 NBA All-Defensive Second Team and can match up with shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards.
There will be a playoff contender looking for depth on the wing that could use Deng's skill set down the stretch. If the Lakers receive a young asset or draft pick in return in the hypothetical trade, it could be a win-win situation.
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