ducks
10-07-2003, 08:29 PM
Luke Walton, a chip off the big redhead, gets a shot at the NBAHONOLULU (AP) _ Shortly after being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers, Luke Walton discovered that being the son of a Hall of Famer only goes so far.
Walton ran into new teammate Karl Malone at a Los Angeles Sparks WNBA game, ``and he told me I'm going to have to get him coffee early in the morning every day so he can read his newspaper,'' Walton said. ``I'm sure it's going to be whatever they want, I'm going to have to do. So I'll just take it as it comes.''
Such is the life of a rookie, even one with a famous name who's on a team stuffed with superstars intent on winning a fourth NBA title in five seasons.
Walton is one of four sons of Bill Walton, and the first to make it to an NBA training camp. After his standout career at Arizona, the Lakers took Walton in the second round of the June draft, the 32nd pick overall.
Walton is clearly a chip off the big redhead. He looks and sounds like his father, although his hair is brown, not red. Not surprisingly, he likes the Grateful Dead, although he's not as hardcore a Deadhead as Bill Walton.
``I'm not like my dad, but yeah, I like the music,'' said Walton, 23. ``That's all we heard until we were like 12, until we started listening to our own music.''
So yes, Walton is following his father's big footsteps. But he's also hoping to stand on his own, and the Lakers think he's capable.
Coach Phil Jackson doesn't see that many similarities between Luke and Bill Walton.
``We talked a little bit of Grateful Dead lingo, but that's about it,'' Jackson said. ``His dad was a 7-footer. This is a kid who handles the ball. He shoots about the same as his dad. They're both good passers, that's the one thing. They see the court well.''
Luke Walton is 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds. If he plays well in camp, he could see some time at small forward, since Rick Fox is rehabbing from foot surgery.
``He'll make the team this year,'' Jackson said. ``We pretty much committed to him as a ballplayer because we think he's got a good chance.''
Walton, who grew up in San Diego, might be more prepared to contribute sooner than some rookies.
``So far, it's been great for me,'' he said. ``I've had a lot of support and I've met a lot of people in the business before I got here, so it's kind of been an easier transition for me.''
Luke Walton got some simple advice from his father before leaving for training camp.
``Just work hard and listen, learn every day from the opportunity I have with the coaches and players I'm with and try to make the best of it,'' he said.
``Luke has got a great chance, and it's a dream come true for him to play with such a great franchise with all those great names and such an unbelievable coach,'' Bill Walton said in a phone interview.
``I could not be happier for him or more proud of him.''
Luke Walton knows it's inevitable he'll be compared with his father, but he's prepared to shrug it off.
Bill Walton said there's no comparison.
``He's much better. Oh, absolutely. Better in everything, and I'm not his coach, I'm just his dad,'' he said.
After his brilliant career at UCLA, Bill Walton had a star-crossed NBA career because of nagging foot and ankle injuries.
In 1977, he helped lead the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA championship and was named the league's MVP in 1978. In 1986, he received the NBA's Sixth Man Award for coming off the bench to help the Boston Celtics win the NBA title.
Luke Walton had several ankle injuries at Arizona, and redshirted his freshman season because of a stress fracture in the navicular bone of his right foot.
Bill Walton had a similar injury at the end of his career, and had an ankle fused in 1990. When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993, he wore sneakers with his suit because regular shoes were too hard on his surgery-scarred feet.
Luke Walton hopes to avoid the injuries that left his dad walking in pain.
``I do a lot of strengthening drills and exercises,'' he said. ``I ice a lot now, hopefully so that my body won't end up getting hurt. I got a lot of advice from older people. They all say ice now, because it's worth it in the long run.''
Note: The following stories are the most recent wire transmissions from SportsTicker and other ESPN.com sources. Versions of some of these stories appear elsewhere on the service.
the link (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/gen/wire?messageId=24292757)
Walton ran into new teammate Karl Malone at a Los Angeles Sparks WNBA game, ``and he told me I'm going to have to get him coffee early in the morning every day so he can read his newspaper,'' Walton said. ``I'm sure it's going to be whatever they want, I'm going to have to do. So I'll just take it as it comes.''
Such is the life of a rookie, even one with a famous name who's on a team stuffed with superstars intent on winning a fourth NBA title in five seasons.
Walton is one of four sons of Bill Walton, and the first to make it to an NBA training camp. After his standout career at Arizona, the Lakers took Walton in the second round of the June draft, the 32nd pick overall.
Walton is clearly a chip off the big redhead. He looks and sounds like his father, although his hair is brown, not red. Not surprisingly, he likes the Grateful Dead, although he's not as hardcore a Deadhead as Bill Walton.
``I'm not like my dad, but yeah, I like the music,'' said Walton, 23. ``That's all we heard until we were like 12, until we started listening to our own music.''
So yes, Walton is following his father's big footsteps. But he's also hoping to stand on his own, and the Lakers think he's capable.
Coach Phil Jackson doesn't see that many similarities between Luke and Bill Walton.
``We talked a little bit of Grateful Dead lingo, but that's about it,'' Jackson said. ``His dad was a 7-footer. This is a kid who handles the ball. He shoots about the same as his dad. They're both good passers, that's the one thing. They see the court well.''
Luke Walton is 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds. If he plays well in camp, he could see some time at small forward, since Rick Fox is rehabbing from foot surgery.
``He'll make the team this year,'' Jackson said. ``We pretty much committed to him as a ballplayer because we think he's got a good chance.''
Walton, who grew up in San Diego, might be more prepared to contribute sooner than some rookies.
``So far, it's been great for me,'' he said. ``I've had a lot of support and I've met a lot of people in the business before I got here, so it's kind of been an easier transition for me.''
Luke Walton got some simple advice from his father before leaving for training camp.
``Just work hard and listen, learn every day from the opportunity I have with the coaches and players I'm with and try to make the best of it,'' he said.
``Luke has got a great chance, and it's a dream come true for him to play with such a great franchise with all those great names and such an unbelievable coach,'' Bill Walton said in a phone interview.
``I could not be happier for him or more proud of him.''
Luke Walton knows it's inevitable he'll be compared with his father, but he's prepared to shrug it off.
Bill Walton said there's no comparison.
``He's much better. Oh, absolutely. Better in everything, and I'm not his coach, I'm just his dad,'' he said.
After his brilliant career at UCLA, Bill Walton had a star-crossed NBA career because of nagging foot and ankle injuries.
In 1977, he helped lead the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA championship and was named the league's MVP in 1978. In 1986, he received the NBA's Sixth Man Award for coming off the bench to help the Boston Celtics win the NBA title.
Luke Walton had several ankle injuries at Arizona, and redshirted his freshman season because of a stress fracture in the navicular bone of his right foot.
Bill Walton had a similar injury at the end of his career, and had an ankle fused in 1990. When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1993, he wore sneakers with his suit because regular shoes were too hard on his surgery-scarred feet.
Luke Walton hopes to avoid the injuries that left his dad walking in pain.
``I do a lot of strengthening drills and exercises,'' he said. ``I ice a lot now, hopefully so that my body won't end up getting hurt. I got a lot of advice from older people. They all say ice now, because it's worth it in the long run.''
Note: The following stories are the most recent wire transmissions from SportsTicker and other ESPN.com sources. Versions of some of these stories appear elsewhere on the service.
the link (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/gen/wire?messageId=24292757)