Walton's Touch Comes From Within, And From Mentor

By Kevin Ding - Senior Writer

Brace yourself for this blasphemy: Luke Walton is a better coach for the Lakers than Phil Jackson would be.

That's no knock on perhaps the greatest coach in sports history. It's just understanding the reality that Jackson had his time–and that time is not now.

It's probably true to say that the only one to get this job right in the past 30 years was Jackson. It doesn't change the fact that these millennials needed to lead the Lakers' franchise to renewed glory require a different sort of guidance and attention than Jackson knows to provide.

Walton, at 37, is uniquely able to relate to this younger generation.

He also happens to be such a disciple of Jackson that these young Lakers are actually getting downloaded Phil's wisdom without even clicking on it.

Look at Julius Randle's experience this season: The creative, tension-building mind games have been played all over the place with Randle, who is now tearing up the league.

Luke Walton on the sideline as the Lakers face the Knicks

Choosing someone from the roster with a healthy sense of self who can handle a little embarrassment in order to allow the coach to flex his necessary bad-cop muscle. The loss of a starting job in order to make clear the importance of the team and specific groups playing well over any particular individual. The desire to hear useful feedback from a challenged player rather than angry pouting or mute acceptance. The withholding of court time–Randle played eight minutes one game and 11 minutes another in the early season–as the primary prod to improve. Even the occasionally very public and personal criticism sent through the media to apply pressure to dig deeper.

Those were all stand-by Jackson ploys to tweak guys he saw weren't quite reaching their ceiling, guys who if they matured to understand their individual powers would kickstart the betterment of the team.

Now it's plain to see Randle has improved in every way.

He looks so good entering restricted free agency this summer that many believe it might be better if the Lakers don't attract two big-name free agents this offseason, because the club's best path to title contention could be signing one star and re-signing Randle this year–then adding another big-name free agent next summer.

But it has been an interesting push-and-pull season for Walton and Randle, one that seems to be nearing a pretty happy ending.

"He has grown up a lot," Walton said recently, "in the time that I've known him."

Accelerating that process throughout the roster is Walton's basic goal, alongside winning games.

"It forces you to grow quicker in this league," Walton said about Randle's challenges this season. "Not just him, but all of our young guys, the quicker they experience some of these things, the better they're going to be in the court.

It's why veterans are better in this league; they win in this league. They've been through all these things, and they know how to perform no matter what's happening."

In his era Jackson was viewed as better getting through to veterans than young players. He was more subtle than sincere in showing his warmth. He would half-joke, half-condemn–and bear in mind that Walton was a rookie player on Jackson's 2003-04 Lakers team–by saying rookies were lower than whale excrement.

Walton has been savvy enough not to be soft on these young players–especially breakthrough rookies Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart this season, with Brandon Ingram a rookie last season–yet he has been cool enough to talk motivational trash to their faces.

And Walton has been so completely real throughout everything that they trust he cares.

After one of those games where Walton so blatantly yelled at Randle that he needed him to give their group more…Walton called Randle on the phone later that night to check back in.