A Warriors Employee Pranked Luke Walton Into Believing That The Lakers Fell Out Of The Top 3 In The Draft Lottery

Before lottery, Warriors PR czar Raymond Ridder texted Luke Walton that Lakers got 4th pick. Luke fell for the prank, now has last laugh.

— Bill Oram (@billoram) May 18, 2016

I know Lakers fans are busy furiously beating their dick at the mere thought of Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram in the purple and gold, and this is the type of thing I would LOVE to hear if I were them. Let's face it, Luke Walton is a relative unknown as a Head Coach. Yeah, he helped orchestrate a historically long winning streak in Golden State but a large majority of that credit has been given to the system of Steve Kerr and the unbridled success of Steph Curry. There are certainly more than a few people that thought of Luke Walton as nothing more than a pretty face standing behind the bench and smiling his way to success. That's why I would find it reassuring, if I were a Lakers fan, that people within the Warriors organization respect Luke Walton enough to prank him to the brink of suicide.

Make no mistake, taking the Lakers job and then almost immediately losing your first round pick after it fell out of the top three would be catastrophic. The fact that Raymond Riddler (hell of a name for a PR guy) wanted to see Luke Walton's heart sink to the deepest of depths before abruptly rising from the ashes like a phoenix is a testament to how well liked he is within that franchise. You only destroy someone's dreams that badly if you consider them a dear friend. Intentionally getting someone's hopes down so that any outcome that isn't a complete tragedy seems even better by comparison is how you let someone know that you appreciate them. I don't know if Luke Walton is a good coach or not, but I do know that one employee's desire to see him experience the sharpest of mood swings means that a potential back-to-back championship winning team views him as such. 

P.S. If Raymond Riddler had lied and told him that they got the first overall pick when they didn't then I would do anything and everything in my power to tear up that contract if I were the Lakers.