The Los Angeles Lakers had an underwhelming first year with LeBron James on their roster.
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This is a group that was expected to make the playoffs in the tough Western Conference, but injuries and questionable offseason signings derailed those hopes. In a recent appearance on the Sports Business Radio Road Show on Tuesday at Loyola Marymount University, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss was asked about the future of head coach Luke Walton with the franchise, but wasn't prepared to provide just yet.
"I'm not going to give you the answer to that question," Buss said when asked about Walton's status with the franchise.
While Buss didn't elaborate on what the future holds for Walton, she did compliment what he brings to the table from a leadership perspective.
"There's a whole other chapter of my life where I was, for 15 years, the significant other of coach Phil Jackson," Buss said. "And Phil used to say, 'Bill Walton may be Luke's dad, but Luke is my son.' ... It was a very Star Wars-y kind of thing," Buss said. "But Luke has always been someone that, he came to the Lakers as a rookie, the last year of Shaq [Shaquille O'Neal] and Kobe [Bryant]. So he kind of bridged two Lakers teams in the Shaq-Kobe era and then in what you would call the Kobe-Pau [Gasol] era.
"And he is somebody, I think, who doesn't even realize what a natural he is and that leadership that he has, in terms of getting people, connecting with people and all ages. And I think he's done a terrific job."
The Lakers, back in action on Thursday against the Warriors (10:30 p.m. ET -- watch on fuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension), obviously haven't had a ton of success as far as the whole body of work goes, especially after failing to qualify for the postseason. However, Los Angeles was in the thick of the playoff race before LeBron went down with a groin strain on Christmas Day. With just four games remaining on their schedule, the Lakers have already seen seasons end for James, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart due to injury and the need to recover. In addition, both Kyle Kuzma and Tyson Chandler have missed the last two games for a team constantly running out different lineups.
"And that's a challenge for a coach to constantly be changing lineups, and it's hard," Buss added. "But we were in a position where things were all going in the right way, and we beat Golden State on Christmas Day, which was a great present for me, but then also LeBron [James] got hurt. So it really puts a lot of pressure on the coaching situation in terms of what he's able to do when he's short-handed with players.
"I think he is a hard worker, and he is somebody that players gravitate towards, and he's, I think, done an incredible job under a lot of challenging circumstances."
The Lakers certainly have quite the offseason ahead of them with several high-profile decisions to make in terms of the franchise. They'll have to decide if they're going to stick with Walton, who could win more than 35 games for the first time since taking the Lakers job prior to the 2016-17 season.
In addition, players like JaVale McGee, Rajon Rondo and Lance Stephenson all are on one-year deals and the Lakers will have to decide if they want to bring them back. Rondo recently admitted that he'd love to return to the Lakers if they're interested in a reunion.
