Luke Walton was hired as Head Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in the offseason of 2016 after spending half a season as the interim head coach of the Golden State Warriors. Walton temporarily replaced Steve Kerr due to recovery from a back surgery.
The Warriors, in their 43 games under Walton, went 39-4 en route to the second-greatest start to a season in NBA history. This made Walton a prime candidate for the Lakers coaching position, and it was assumed that he would be the coach to get the Lakers through the rest of their rebuilding process.