1. Optimism
More than anything that Luke Walton can say in front of the media, more than anything he can teach to the players on the Lakers roster, and more than anything that he can draw on the dry-erase clipboard, what he’s bringing to the organization and to the fans is hope. After the two worst seasons in the history of the franchise, having hope that things can turn around for this franchise and that the young core can start to develop into something substantial is so meaningful.
If we’re being totally honest, we have absolutely no idea what Luke Walton is going to be as a full-time NBA head coach. All of the positive signs may be there and he showed promise as an interim coach of a historically great team, but there’s still no way of knowing for sure that everything is going to work out perfectly no matter how confident anyone is that it’s going to. However, the fact that fans and the organization are confident and are hopeful is what’s important.
Next: Lakers Trade Rumors: Kings Willing to Deal Boogie
When the powers at be in the franchise and the fans are optimistic about a team, it rubs off on the players—the players can feel that energy when they take the floor and feed off of it in a way that’s hard to define but that is very real. Before he’s ever coached a game officially as a head coach in the NBA without an interim label, that’s what Walton brings as he returns home to the Lakers; and that makes so much of a difference for this team moving forward.