The Los Angeles Lakers hired Luke Walton as the team's next head coach on Friday night, and the decision seemingly had nothing to do with his extensive ties to Phil Jackson. That's right, conspiracy theorists can put their tin foil hats away, because Kevin Ding of Bleacher report revealed in his column on Walton's hiring that "Lakers president Jeanie Buss, Jackson's fiancee and Jim's sister, did not make this decision on Walton, according to team sources."
According to Ding, Lakers president Jim Buss "appreciates" Walton's ties to Jackson, and from the sound of things, the Lakers basketball operations department has been given autonomy on this decision.