Lakers coach Luke Walton wants to take page from Warriors’ playbook

During his stint as a Golden State Warriors assistant coach, Luke Walton rarely made it out to the court in time for the national anthem.

“Luke’s the most laid-back guy on earth,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “The anthem would finally come to a close and the starting lineups would be announced and here comes Luke with a big smile on his face.”

Now a head coach himself, in his first year with the Los Angeles Lakers, Walton is making it out in time — barely. On Saturday, he sauntered onto the T-Mobile Arena court a minute before warmups ended.

Walton has brought more than just that laid-back demeanor with him to Los Angeles. He’s also trying to bring what he learned from Kerr to Southern California, and on Saturday, before the teams met in NBA preseason action, the two coaches displayed a mutual respect for each other.

“I hate that guy,” Kerr said jokingly before calling Walton one of his best friends. Kerr’s team then went out and defeated the Lakers 112-107 after leading 74-47 at halftime.

One of the biggest things Walton is taking from his former boss is a template for how to relate to his players.

“It was the first time I had been around that type of open relationship player-coach, and that’s naturally who I am,” Walton said. “I like being able to talk to the guys and include them in decisions and get their feedback, and the way he did that and the success we had and how much that helped, I think, in having players take ownership of what we were doing as a team is something that is a big part of my coaching style now.”

The two stepped into drastically different situations in their first years as head coaches. Kerr, of course, inherited a roster packed with talent and won a title in his first season. Walton’s roster is less developed but filled with promising young players.

Despite the roster differences, Kerr said the two coaches are “pretty similar” in their approach to the game.

“We want the ball to move, we want guys to work, but we want to have fun,” Kerr said. “We understand this is a game. This is a sport. They’re probably going to play better if they’re enjoying the atmosphere, and Luke will create a great atmosphere for them to work in.”

Walton hopes to replicate that culture Kerr has built with his team.

“Obviously it’s different starting points, it’s a different plan of attack because of where we’re at and the youth that we have and obviously new coaches coming in, some new vets coming in, but the way they did things as far as big picture is something that I’d like to see down here with the way our players develop and look forward to coming in and going to work every day,” Walton said.

That culture, he said, made a good work environment, as it was a family atmosphere and players genuinely enjoyed coming to work and competing every day. Walton said there also was a value on doing things the right way and holding each other accountable, all things he’s trying to bring to his new team.

“He’ll figure out how he wants to operate on a daily basis, because that’s where it’s really more about your personality than a mentor you had, but the guy’s going to be a brilliant coach,” Kerr said.

NOTES — The Warriors jumped to a quick lead thanks in part to an 18-point first quarter from Klay Thompson.

The Lakers got within striking distance in the fourth quarter after the Warriors removed their stars, making the final outcome seem much closer than the game was throughout. The Warriors at one point led by more than 30 points.

Thompson led all scorers with 24 points in 19 minutes. Kevin Durant scored 17 and Steph Curry 14. Former UNLV guard Patrick McCaw scored 13 for the Warriors.

Betsy Helfand can be reached at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand.