LOS ANGELES — Perhaps the greatest public vote of confidence LeBron James ever gave Luke Walton came on Friday morning, long after Walton’s last day as his coach.
James, reflecting on the 37-45 record last season that bumped him from the playoffs for the first time since 2005, didn’t lay it at Walton’s feet.
“We were just behind the eight ball,” James said. “But throughout it all, we just tried to remain positive, even throughout with the young guys, with the older guys and whatever the case may be. So, I think he did as great of a job as you could do under the circumstances.”
Hours before tip-off, as Walton was preparing his Sacramento Kings to take on the Lakers, he smiled when James’ words were repeated back to him.
“Um, I agree with LeBron,” he said, with a laugh.
Neither Walton nor James was in much of a reflective mood when it came to last season, which resulted in the overhaul of the Lakers’ roster and the dismissal of Walton. But both tried to make the best of what was often an awkward partnership, with no shortage of tension fueled by losing games, injuries and trade rumors.
At one point, when a reporter asked what the differences were between the current, Frank Vogel-led coaching staff and Walton’s, James frowned: “I feel like that’s kind of a trick question.”
Walton declined to talk much about his three-year tenure in Los Angeles, saying at his pregame availability that he was focused on trying to coach his Kings team to win. Sacramento got out to a disappointing 0-5 start before going 4-1 in its next stretch leading into Friday’s game.
When asked what he learned from his Lakers days, Walton demurred.
“We can go into that forever,” he said. “I’ve learned from my coaching there, and I try to use that to be a better coach now. But right now it is all on this game tonight and the continued progress of trying to build off the little bit of success that we’ve had recently.”
Walton did allow that coming back to Staples Center, where he both played and coached, was “special” for him. And while he didn’t win a lot of games with a 98-148 record, he left with a lot of relationships in L.A.
Kyle Kuzma was coming out of the Lakers’ locker room to warm up as Walton walked through the back tunnel on Friday, and stopped to embrace his former coach. Walton said he still has fondness for the players he led during his tenure, even though many of them no longer play for the Lakers, either.
“I like watching those other guys play down in New Orleans,” he said. “Part of coaching is you build relationships with other players. And I enjoy watching the guys that are still here.”
Walton also had some praise for James, who is leading the NBA in assists during the team’s hot start.
“He’s LeBron, he’s one of the greatest players of all time, if not the greatest,” he said. “So I’m sure last year getting hurt, not making the playoffs, I mean, he’s going right now. And this team kind of follows that lead. They’re playing incredibly well, their defense and offense starts with him. He looks really good.”
LeBron says that he did take away positives from working with Luke Walton (whose Kings face the Lakers tonight) and that Walton did "as good a job as he could do under the circumstances." pic.twitter.com/KQw93LSYo7
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) November 15, 2019
.@mcten relayed to Luke Walton that LeBron James said that Luke did a great job last season given the circumstances. Luke: “I agree with LeBron.” pic.twitter.com/7zL3La9hRC
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) November 16, 2019
