A Royal Pain
Fansided

Luke Walton’s Coaching Career Is On The Line

By Ryan Ritter

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JANUARY 27: Luke Walton of the Sacramento Kings looks on in overtime against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the game at Target Center on January 27, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Kings defeated the Timberwolves 133-129 in overtime. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JANUARY 27: Luke Walton of the Sacramento Kings looks on in overtime against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the game at Target Center on January 27, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Kings defeated the Timberwolves 133-129 in overtime. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
Sacramento Kings
Luke Walton Sacramento Kings (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

The Sacramento Kings is only Luke Walton’s second stop as head coach in the NBA. Could his career already be on the line?

The hiring of Luke Walton as coach of the Sacramento Kings was not an uncontroversial one amongst the fanbase. Many people liked the job previous coach Dave Joerger had done with the 2018-19 squad, while others were concerned about Walton’s record with his previous team, the Los Angeles Lakers. On the other hand, Kings GM Vlade Divac had reportedly had his eye on Luke for years leading up to his official hiring on April 14, 2019. All of it got exacerbated by sexual assault claims by Kelli Tennant just days after his hire.

Obviously, Walton’s first year has left much to be desired, with the Kings fairly far out of the playoffs conversation after an off-season full of expectations. At the moment, a change in coaches does not appear imminent, with Divac recently speaking out in support of his “number 1 hire”. However, Walton needs to be cognizant of the fact that if his Kings stint fizzles out, it won’t just mean the end of his era in the 916 area code; it could easily mean the end of his coaching career altogether.

Golden State Warriors

It’s easy to forget now, but Walton’s coaching career got off to as good a start as anybody could ever dream of. At the start of the 2015-16 season, Walton became the interim coach of the Golden State Warriors after Steve Kerr took an indefinite leave of absence to rehab his bad back.  By the time Kerr returned to the team and took back his post, the Warriors were 39-4. Along the way, Walton had been named the Western Conference Coach of the Month in November. The wins could not officially be credited to Walton due to the rules of the NBA, his contribution to the team was clear. By the end of the year, the Warriors finished with 73 wins and Walton sat next to Steve Kerr during his Coach of the Year press conference.

Also. Who Will Be The Next Kings All-Star?. light

However, there was an obvious question hanging over the proceedings. Given the talents of Golden State, couldn’t someone walk in from off the street and coach them to 39 out of 43 wins?  Walton did an excellent job at keeping the ship afloat in Steve Kerr’s absence, and it was diplomatic of Kerr to give credit to his interim coach for their record-breaking win total, but it was unclear how much of that was due to having an elite squad and how much was due to Walton’s coaching skills.

Regardless, it was clear that eventually some team looking for a fresh start at head coach was going to snap Walton up and give him a chance to run a team for himself. Less than a year later, he would get that chance.

Home/Kings News