Lakers News: Luke Walton Favored To Be First NBA Coach Fired After Slow Start For LeBron James, L.A.

The 2018-2019 NBA season is only a week old, but the pressure is on in L.A. With the Los Angeles Lakers winless in their first three games, there is already speculation regarding Luke Walton’s job security.

After a 0-3 start, Walton has been named the betting favorite to be the first head coach fired this season. The odds were released following the Lakers’ Monday night overtime loss to the San Antonio Spurs in which Los Angeles blew a six-point lead with less than a minute remaining.

The signing of LeBron James in the summer brought with it high expectations to a team that hasn’t reached the postseason since 2013. L.A. isn’t supposed to necessarily challenge the Golden State Warriors, but they did enter the season with the third-best championship odds of any team in the Western Conference.

Los Angeles finished 11th in the West last season with a 35-47 record. The Lakers hadn’t won more than 27 games in any of the previous four seasons. Adding the NBA’s best player to a core of promising young players put the team’s projected win total at 48.5, per OddsShark.

Walton is James’ seventh head coach in his 16-year career. The Cleveland Cavaliers fired David Blatt during the 2015-2016 season, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see Walton lose his job if the Lakers are still playing poorly a few weeks into James’ first year in Los Angeles.

“We know where the blame will go,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on the Oct. 18 edition of “The Woj Pod,” regarding a potential slow start for the Lakers. “LeBron’s not gonna get the blame, and he’s not gonna want to to take the blame on. It’ll be the coach, it’ll be teammates. They’ll be a succession of scapegoats.”

The Lakers are Walton’s first full-time head-coaching gig. He totaled a 61-103 record in his first two seasons. The Warriors went 39-4 in the 2015-2016 season when Walton led the team as Steve Kerr recovered from back surgery, though those wins officially belong on Kerr’s record.

Mike Brown was James’ longest-tenured head coach, leading the Cavs for the final five seasons of James’ first stint in Cleveland. Erik Spoelstra coached James during all four of his seasons with the Miami Heat.

Tom Thibodeau isn’t far behind Walton for the best odds of becoming the first coach fired. The Minnesota Timberwolves are 2-2 on the young season, and Jimmy Butler has been outspoken about his desire to be traded.

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan also makes the list. The Thunder and the Lakers are two of the NBA’s four remaining winless teams.