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Lakers forward Luke Walton joins Memphis staff during lockout

Instead of not filling the vacant third assistant position on his staff as he hinted last week, University of Memphis coach Josh Pastner has made an intriguing choice for the job.

Pastner is on the verge of hiring fellow Arizona alum and current Los Angeles Lakers forward Luke Walton as an assistant coach until the NBA lockout ends and play resumes. The hire will not become official without the approval of the Tennessee State Board of Regents, but Pastner is confident enough it will happen that Memphis put out a release announcing it.

"Luke is going to bring great excitement and great energy to the Tigers program, and we're thrilled to have him," Pastner said. "Luke is someone who has not only played for but also learned from arguably one of the greatest coaches in basketball history in Phil Jackson. Luke's also played with and against the best-of-the-best at the highest level of basketball in the NBA, including being a teammate of one of the NBA's all-time greats in Kobe Bryant."

Considering Pastner struck out in his attempt to lure veteran NBA assistant Tim Grgurich to Memphis and hasn't found another viable long-term option so deep into the summer, Walton may be an ideal short-term solution. The Lakers forward has limited recruiting background, but he has many qualities of a future coach, from his unselfish playing style, to his knowledge of the game, to his ability to relate with people of all backgrounds.

The only risk in hiring Walton for Pastner is if the NBA lockout ends before the college season does, which would leave Memphis down an assistant for some or even most of the season. Walton may want to coach after his playing career is over, but he would be foolish to retire with two years and more than $11 million left on his current contract.

A series of foot and back injuries have robbed Walton of his former athleticism and made it difficult for him to live up to that lucrative deal he signed in 2007, but he still endeared himself to Phil Jackson because he played the game the right way. Whenever the Lakers' offense was out of sync or too dependent on Kobe Bryant, Jackson would insert Walton for a few minutes because his knack for spacing the floor and finding teammates for easy baskets was the oil the offense needed to run smoothly again.

Walton will join a Memphis staff that already has a significant Tucson flavor. The lone holdover from last year's staff is former Arizona assistant Jack Murphy and the other first-year assistant is ex-Arizona guard Damon Stoudamire.