LOS ANGELES >> The rookie tag naturally made Luke Walton a candidate for hazing. So did his father, Bill, the Hall of Fame center that never hesitated sharing his thoughts while holding a microphone.
So with Walton entering his rookie season with the 2003-04 season, the Lakers’ veterans in Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton and Karl Malone offered them a stern warning in training camp.
“They let me know life was going to be hell for me that year because of stuff my dad had said,” Walton said before the Lakers hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday at Staples Center.