Report: Detroit Pistons hire former player, head coach Luke Walton as lead assistant

Walton won 2 NBA titles with late 2000s Lakers

DETROIT – The Detroit Pistons have hired former player and head coach Luke Walton as their lead assistant.

Senior lead NBA Insider Shams Charania first reported Walton’s hiring on Friday (July 12) at 8:16 p.m. on X where he said the former Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings head coach would be working on newly signed head coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s staff.

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Walton, 44, worked under Bickerstaff as the Cleveland Cavaliers assistant head coach last season.

The 44-year-old brings knowledge and experience to the Pistons as he led the Kings for three seasons (2019-2021), and before that, he was at the helm for his former team, the Lakers, from 2016-2019 as he improved his team win totals in each of those seasons while standing on the sideline.

Walton spent who is the son of basketball hall of famer Bill Walton, played 10 seasons in the association as a forward, winning two NBA championships with the Kobe Bryant led late 2000s Lakers.

Related: Detroit Pistons hire G League coach Kevin Burleson as assistant


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Brandon Carr is a digital content producer for ClickOnDetroit and has been with WDIV Local 4 since November 2021. Brandon is the 2015 Solomon Kinloch Humanitarian award recipient for Community Service.