In his first season as head coach of the Lakers, Luke Walton guided the purple and gold to a 26-56 record — marking a nine-win improvement from last season. In particular, the Lakers were strong at the bookend points of the season, winning half of their first 20 games and five of their last six.
Below is a summary of his exit interview with assembled media on Thursday:
- Walton expressed confidence in the job being done by President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and General Manager Rob Pelinka. While he expects them to continue trying to improve the roster in the short term, he also said, “I think they both believe in the young core that we have.