National Basketball Association

Luke Walton is trying to replicate the Warriors culture with the Lakers

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:55 p.m. ET

Nunzio Ingrassia

The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t made the playoffs in three years, the longest drought in the team’s illustrious history and are coming off a franchise-worst 17 wins and no longer have Kobe Bryant to lean on.

But it’s not all doom and gloom in Lakerland. The Lakers hired former Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton as head coach in the offseason, hoping he can build the same successful brand of basketball Golden State fans have enjoyed in the Bay Area.

Walton knows this will be an uphill climb but wants to start by implementing the Warriors’ mentality.

"The culture that we had up there is what I’m trying to build down here," Walton said, via ESPN. "Obviously, (there are) different starting points. It’s a different plan of attack because of where we’re at and the youth that we have. Obviously some new coaches are coming in and some new (veteran players are) coming in. But the way they did things, as far as big picture, is something I’d like to see down here with the way our players develop and look forward to coming and doing the work today."

Walton must love what he’s seen from second-year point guard D’Angelo Russell in summer league and the preseason. Russell is averaging a team-high 18.2 points and 4.7 assists while shooting 48 percent from the floor and 37 percent from deep.

No, those are not Steph Curry numbers, but they are a noticeable uptick for Russell, who struggled to earn consistent playing time under L.A.'s previous head coach Byron Scott.

Russell seems more comfortable in Walton’s free-flowing offensive system, which Walton knows will take some time to learn. But the Lakers new head coach is more focused on the team’s long-term growth than immediate success.

"And if that ends up costing a couple wins here or there, I think that’s something that we have to live with as a group," he said. "Because in the bigger picture, it’s more important that we have those basics down, those fundamentals down."