Luke Walton, 36, is the youngest coach in the NBA. And when you're a young, inexperienced coach, it's hard to earn the respect of your players and make them commit to your plans. But not if you stand up for them.
Luke Walton may be new to coaching but he's not inexperienced. He's a winner. He became a champion as a player with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers and he's won a championship with the Golden State Warriors as Steve Kerr's assistant.
So the moment Walton saw a chance to stand up for one of his players, he did it without hesitation. Julius Randle got tangled up with DeMarcus Cousins in the first quarter of the Lakers' blowout loss to the Sacramento Kings. Cousins and Randle got involved in a trash-talking affair in November and they went at it again.
"I'm a huge fan of DeMarcus Cousin's game," Walton said. "I thought it wasn't right what happened out there, so I stood up for my guys like I will every time," he added.
Luke Walton clearly already has the respect of his players but what he did solidified his authority. "Oh, I love Coach, man," Randle said. "He has our back 100 percent. It makes you want to go out there and bust your butt for him," he added.
Cousins initiated contact, wrapped his arms around Randle and they both went down to the floor. No foul was called and it lit up Walton. Walton entered the court and was furious for the non-call. He got issued with two technical fouls and was tossed out of the game. Assistant coach Brian Shaw took over for Walton and the Kings took advantage.
He was angry," Cousins said. "He did what he had to do. I'm not mad at it. It helped us out. I'm not mad at it," he added. Losing Walton was definitely crucial for the Lakers. The Lakers were up 58-49 by half time but the Kings caught fire in the third quarter. The Kings outscored the Lakers 39-13 and never looked back en route to a 116-92 victory.
