He is not Luke Skywalker but he does have the power to attract FA's and TOP TIER talents in these next couple of seasons
With the rise of the cap and the FA's available the next 2 seasons alone, it could greatly change the direction of the franchise

IMO, Phil Jackson should have at least give him a HIGH OFFER to consider coaching NYK's
Something in the neighborhood of 8m-12m + incentives annually
Phil Jackson should have learned through last summers FA that we NEED help with recruiting talent, as Phil Jackson/The Triangle and CA is not enough to appeal TOP TIER FA's, in fact one could argue that they can not even attract MID TIER FA's, unless we OVERPAY (which is what we did with both Affalo and Derrick Williams

by both of them signing 2year deals (however with player options) it holds us hostage, luckily neither got HURT to HUGE injuries like ACL/Achilles (especially for Affalo)

Now lets realize that ALMOST ALL PLAYERS, GM's, OWNERS, (PRESIDENT OF Operations), Coaches, etc FA's from TOP TIER to VET MIN all are intrigued by the way GS plays on both OFF and DEFENSE as a TEAM
This includes Lebron James who is fascinated with GS and knows that Cleveland has to gearup a knotch to actually compete with GS
Walton ran a bit different rotations/Philosophy's than Kerr, when he coached while Kerr was recovering, which will prepare him for his future HC position

With the CAP going up drastically in these next couple years, CAP SPACE BY EVERY TEAM, along with many talents from Franchise players, TOP TIER talents, 2nd tier, 3rd tier, solid role players, vet min and continued development talents

However, having CAP SPACE and the Triangle is NOT ENOUGH to actually recruit/attract talent
I Believe Luke Walton would have GREATLY improved our chances in landing a TOP TIER TALENT (if he does it would also have a multiple affect from future STARS/pay cuts from low salary from cap friendly deals to vet mins)

From 8m to 12m + per year and INCENTIVES (if The Lakers didn't offer close to that amount, Phil Jackson should really just quit and go back to LA with Jeannie Buss)
So ONE may think that it would be TOO MUCH to pay Luke Walton, however, I highly would disagree
With the CAP GOING UP DRASTICALLY, coaches will get a raise as well, look at what Thibs and Scott Brooks just got
And the coaching staff would pay itself out because we would be able to land ACTUAL talent, along with players taking pay cuts

If Phil Jackson ONLY WANTS THE TRIANGLE and NOT the emphasis of Luke Walton's EXPERIENCE from GOLDEN STATE while (using principles of the Triangle and using it more for PASSING rather than POSTING UP)
Playing TEAM BASKETBALL, unselfish basketball, and playing with ball/player movement is what Phil Jackson has said he wanted
However, THE TRIANGLE is NOT the only way to get there

Lets be honest, we DO NOT HAVE THE TOP TIER TALENTS that came with his RINGS
He is giving too much credit to the system, and not enough credit to the TOP TIER TALENTS he had along with many solid role players/versatile talents

I keep hearing from some posters here about how Robin Lopez has been solid for us, however, I would disagree GREATLY

IMO, the combination of

Ropin Lopez/ KP / CA will NEVER be able to compete for a ring together (unless TOP TIER talents are in both the PG/SG position's which WILL NOT HAPPEN, likely needing FRANCHISE talents)

If you put Robin Lopez on the Jordan/Pippen team than a team could win with Robin Lopez, however, he is not good enough on DEFENSE or OFFENSE as he takes up space
As small ball continues to evolve and change the NBA as we know it,

The purpose of "small ball" working is because it allows a team to get penetration *which leads to HIGH % shots* from all positions along with wide open shots
On DEFENSE, it allows more versatility with multiple switches and it is needed with the way the NBA has changed

The Lakers could have a TOP 3 pick as they are #2 this year with Philly at #1 (they still need the luck of the ping pong balls in order to keep that pick)
Adding to that they have over 60m to spend and with the addition of Walton, the Lakers franchise, along with Kobe's retirement, and young prospects to develop
It now would GREATLY change the appeal for LA vs NY

they are missing a SF along with a Center and could go many different directions with the way Luke Walton could envision the style of play he would like to execute/develop

1- Russell
2- Jordan Clarkson (RFA with 2years experience and has a LOW CAP HOLD has he makes under 1m this year)

JC was a stud last year when he was able to penetrate and finish consistantly last season and likely will continue from where he left off, after Kobe's going away tour has ended
Lakers have the ability to MATCH any offer for him or let him go if they do not want to PAY him if they are unable to convince enough talent to sign with the Franchise (which is HIGHLY UNLIKELY now)
In fact there is a great chance that he would not even entertain offers and give time to The Lakers to recruit talents
Just like Kawaii Leanard, Reggie Jackson, Tobias Harris and many other players did last summer

Russell and The Lakers will be in a similar position with Jeremy Lin/Asik *both were RFA's with early bird rights) and Chandler Parsons was with Houston/Dallas *as Mark Cuban expected Morey to match the offer
Cuban was upset that Morey tried to steal Dirk Nowitski and wanted to get revenge with him

*more or less, the expendables*

3- Randle 3m + (could be sent to the bench or even be packaged along with other players such as Nick Young for even more cap space, as he is an undersized PF but could net draft picks and clear more cap space to possibly form a TRIO + like Miami did with Lebron/Wade/Bosh

4- Louis Williams (at 7m per year, he could be considered quite cap friendly with 3years remaining but would Lakers prefer more cap space?)
He will be making the MOST money on the roster until they sign FA's this summer

they could possibly go after Seth Curry for less and create a friendly rivalry

5- Nick Young's contract
The only truly "negative contract" and with the whole Iggy and Swaggy P/Russell thing, though his contract isn't "Horrible, they could go after players such as Brandon Rush, trade for (Justin Holiday who I was surprised was not resigned by GS last summer and Phil Jackson should have targeted as a vet min continued development talent)

Nick Young will have 2 seasons left at $5,443,918 (upcoming seasons salary) $5,668,667(player option)

making peanuts
6- Anthony Brown
7- Larry Nance JR

8- possibly TOP #3 pick

?? Brandon Bass *if they want to keep his future early bird rights/bird rights, if it will be a cap friendly deal*
Though they probably can sign a VET MIN talent now with the many ways they can improve/attract FA's

Roy Hibbert on a vet min like contract
Sacre, Black, Holmes, Huertas, MWP, Ryan Kelly, and such end of the bench players

not sure if they will be looking to bring anyone else back, which is unlikely, they are more likely going to try to have even more cap space

With their needs being SF and Center (can go many different directions with the way the NBA has evolved)
They have the ability to target and sign

So with 60m + to spend, there are many ways The Lakers and Walton can go

Lebron *though I do not think he is close to the same physical player, lacking much speed/quickness, he once was and will continue to decline greatly, his leadership/intangibles/BB IQ/ Size and Strength, knowledge, EXP, intangibles etc would speed up the development and maturity of Russell and the young Lakers to WORK HARD on the court, in the gym, and provide accountability/locker room presence, Point/Forward maybe play a role similar to Draymond Green

Durant (lets not also forget that Westbrook also is a UFA, NEXT SUMMER, I would not be surprised if they signed him or have plans to do so as well, especially if they can get rid of Nick Young's player option and possibly get draft picks for

Whiteside

or even possibly trade for player with the cap space they have

More or less, I expect Walton to sign some GS players or "former GS players" to help the Lakers transition to be their Lance Thomas/Lou Williams
Possibly even trade for some talents to give GS the ability to sign or trade for Durant

Trades such as

Iggy
Livingston *unlikely for GS as his defense and ability to defend so many positions and PUNISH SMALL guards to post up like he did last year*
Feztis Ezili/ Bogut (unlikely)
Harrison Barnes??

FA's

Ian Clark *he was a big part of Walton's rotation and not so much for Kerr, for a vet min talent to help execute the style of play he wants in practice and can still develop/get better in a bigger role

David Lee

Speights

Jason Thompson

Mcadoo

Kent Baezemore

Justin Holiday (in a trade, as he signed a 2year vet min deal with Hawks but was traded to Bulls in the Hinrich/Shelvin Mack deal as Bulls also got a 2nd rounder out of it, Justin Holiday is a solid player with great size/versatility that was a big part of GS's rotation early last season for Kerr to play SG/SF but can defend a bit of PG and PF (if needed on switches)

Ognjen Kuzmić

maybe Bobdan Marjanivic as the Center position is still NEEDED however teams do not want to commit a lot of money to the position, last summer Bobdan was on my VALUE list for a vet min steal (however, though my D League talents steals didn't quite pan out)

other former team mates?

Andrew Bynum
Would not be surprised if Bynum has been working his BUTT OFF or probably will do so now
If he could with the money teams can offer now, he will have to prove himself first for 1-2 seasons at vet min money or a very cap friendly/guaranteed deal

Gasol
Matt Barnes

unlikely but never know...
Anderson Vereajo, Barbosa *though he looks very productive and still can play*

Shaw
Fisher

Blatt?? Think he had plans to go with Lue/Blatt until the whole Kerr thing popped up

other former Triangle from Bulls and earlier Lakers?

Ron Harper
Rick Fox
Robert Horry
Samaki Walker

Robert Horry like Kerr played for Poppavich and Phil Jackson, in addition to other HOF talents with Hakeem/Clyde and that Rockets team

These are the same names I hoped we would look in to, especially hoping we could land Walton
And whether it will be players, assistant coaches, development coaches, trainers etc

We could have more competition now

Kurt Rambis will not attract anyone and will make many current Knick players puke, especially CA
Is Phil Jackson looking to get fired like Fisher probably was?
Besides major major lawsuits, Lotto, getting FIRED in the NBA *as players, with the AMNESTY and STRETCH contracts and coaches such as Mike Brown, Byron Scott, Derek Fisher, Dantoni, is a great way to MAKE MONEY FOR SUCKING

Is Phil Jackson trying to do the same? at 12m per year?? 3 years left or is it 4? not sure if the 1st year counts with basically a couple months
By Getting Fired?

It seems that he has been taking cheap shots at CA for awhile now and CA is kinda fed up with him, along with the Triangle *without the talent needed to fully execute it*

Even if FULLY HEALTHY
Phil Jackson would HAVE NEVER COACHED this squad, he leaves the orginization when he feels they can not compete for a Title to "hurt his stats'/ Win/Loss"
A reason why I feel Poppavich is by far the better coach, as he transitioned/developed players
While Phil Jackson is giving too much credit to the system, rather than the TOP TIER TALENTS on them, he left LA when Shaq was traded, even with KOBE in his prime he knew it was not enough
Then he leaves them again when Kobe/Gasol/Odom/Fisher/MWP over Ariza etc were in decline *had he kept Ariza rather than signing MWP, I think that would have helped them win 1 more and competed for another 2 seasons with the versatility/defense/chemistry/fit Gasol/Odom/Ariza had together

The Triangle is suited for players that already have chemistry/experience together, not a rebuilding team

IMO

Pau Gasol for Head Coach or at least NOTIFY Gasol for a future position makes sense
let him mentally prepare for it and it is very possible that he could play for The Spur's next season

I think we should upgrade our development coaches with former players that haven't retired too long from the league that have the respect of the players such as
I feel these players would have worked in The Triangle and FIT

Billups *a high IQ PG that knew how to play on and off the ball, great balance of when to take shots and when to facilitate*
As a former Knick and former team mate of CA, I would not mind a Head Coaching position for him, as he can be "our Mark Jackson" as we wait to develop KP and collect the assets/young players that we will need to compete
In General if we get a LOW POST player, the penetrating lanes will not be there, fits with the Triangle scheme, the way he mixed it up and controlled tempo and also even POSTED UP on occasion as well

Wallace/Jermaine Oneil *POST PLAYERS with a midrange game and 3pt game *for Wallace* both players are also solid defenders/rebounders and I believe can translate their versatile skills especially for Wallace who is part of the Detroit coaching staff

Battier *mainly for DEFENSE, however, he played MANY DIFFERENT ROLES from Duke as the TOP GO TO MAN as a PF/C to a SG, SF, PF, on many different teams/roles/schemes
He could help the transition and toughness that we lack as NKY's once was

BRIGGS wrote:Calm down Ron give the guy a couple of years.

Briggs in a couple of years Phil will be back in LA. You know this.

Also Phil did come back to LA when the roster wasn't great. Remember 2004-05 and 2005-06 Kwame Brown and Smush Parker?

crzymdups wrote:

nixluva wrote:Phil was the FIRST to contact Luke! Pretty sure he got a heads up on what Luke was thinking. Not that hard to figure out Luke was gonna wait for the LA job or stay in GS!!!

Also Phil did come back to LA when the roster wasn't great. Remember 2004-05 and 2005-06 Kwame Brown and Smush Parker?

Lakers had three official interviews. You know, the kind you have to get permission for.

Phil got zero official interviews.

In short - Phil is bad at his job.

What would he need an official interview for if Luke told him what he intended to do??? You really think Luke was coming to NY with LA and GS as options???

WaltLongmire wrote:

nixluva wrote:Phil was the FIRST to contact Luke! Pretty sure he got a heads up on what Luke was thinking. Not that hard to figure out Luke was gonna wait for the LA job or stay in GS!!!

Also Phil did come back to LA when the roster wasn't great. Remember 2004-05 and 2005-06 Kwame Brown and Smush Parker?

Phil: Congratulations on a great season Luke. Can't talk to you on the record, but as a friend, I just want to get an idea about your possible plans for the future so I can move with our search for a new Knicks' coach.

Luke: I've had had some feelers from the Lakers, Phil. You know I'm a West Coast guy and would prefer to have a job closer to the Pacific Ocean.

Phil: I understand where you're coming from now, Luke. Thanks for the heads up. Good luck with the playoffs and your next California job.

Yeah I pretty much envisioned it this way too

EnySpree wrote:Ok I'm officially sick of you mother****ers

I agree with this 100%.

StarksEwing1 wrote:Phil was a terrific head coach but so far as a president....not so much

How do we even quantify the difference between Luke, Thibs, Rambis or Blatt? How many games difference if they have the exact same rosters? It would be interesting to find out. The difference this year between Blatt and Tyronn Lue was 3 games better for Blatt. Not a big sample size but you get the idea. That's such a small amount of difference that it's hard to even say Blatt was better or not. Was Blatt directly responsible for the 3 more wins? How do you assess that?