'The Full 48' Podcast: Luke Walton Talks Warriors' Title Chase, Lakers' Rebuild
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton joins Bleacher Report's Howard Beck and Jordan Brenner to discuss his team's future, as well as his former squad's current run in the NBA Finals.
Walton breaks down what it was like to coach in place of Steve Kerr—just as Mike Brown did during a majority of the 2017 NBA playoffs—as well as Lonzo Ball, LaVar Ball and the prospect of the Lakers trading for an established superstar.
Afterward, Beck and Brenner dive into L.A.'s core, a Paul George-Carmelo Anthony comparison and what a finals loss would mean for LeBron James. They also ask the question we're all wondering: Who will be the next team to beat the Warriors in a playoff series?
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The Highlights
On watching the NBA Finals as a former Warriors coach
"I definitely, obviously, feel ties to that team still, being with most of that group the last two years. When you make deep playoff runs and win championships—and lose championships—there's a bond that's built."
On Stephen Curry in last year's finals vs. this year finals
"... he obviously wasn't 100 percent last year. But that's part of what makes winning a championship so hard and at the same time so special, because it's not just about being the best team—things have to go your way, you have to get lucky at times. ... His knee definitely wasn't 100 percent, but how hurt he was, that's something he should answer."
On relating to Mike Brown, the substitute head coach
"I think Mike probably enjoyed it, honestly. It's a team that is so fun to coach. They're professional, they're mature, they know that winning is the most important thing and they take pride in what they do."
"You have to be you and put your own—who you are as a person—in there and be true to yourself to work. So it was definitely [Kerr] guiding the team and the vision that he had set forward, but you know, obviously not trying to be a Steve Kerr robot."
On the Lakers rebuilding
"If there's a time to be rebuilding, this is the time to do it, because the Warriors don't look like they're going anywhere for a while."
On Lakers' promising youth
"It's a lot of fun—it really is. There's obviously a lot of stress and frustration that can come with losing when you're caught up in the moment, but we have a great group of young players. And I don't just mean that by a great group of talented players; I mean like actual people and who they are and the way they work makes coaching so much fun ... We still have the playoffs going on and we've had six or seven guys in here pretty much every day Monday through Friday from May 15 until right now ... they've reached out and they've come in every day ... "
On Lakers trading for a star
"With the trade thing, obviously there's players in this league that if you can get it's really tough to say no to because they're good enough—the superstars in this league are good enough—to make you a contender or not. It's the difference between having a very good team with a lot of role players or having a team that can actually, legitimately win an NBA championship.
"My only caution would be: Let's not give up too much of our young core for one superstar ... let's not forget that those Golden State Warriors are just a little bit north of us and it's gonna take a lot more than one superstar to dethrone them from the West."
On LaVar Ball's influence on Lonzo's draft stock
"I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it ... You don't ever hold anything against a player or a kid or a person just in general because of what someone else says or does. We're gonna evaluate everybody—every player that we're interested in—we're gonna evaluate them for who they are and how much they can help us win ..."
"His son's an incredible basketball player. Everything that I've heard about his son, his son's an incredible young man."
On a LaVar Ball-Bill Walton Podcast
"They'd have to take turns, right? Because how long's the podcast? ... It's gonna be a six-hour podcast.
"It'd probably be pretty entertaining."
