Opinion: Luke Walton Will Be The Coach Of The Kings Next Season

Has Walton Done Enough To Save His Job?

With the Kings in the thick of a playoff push and winning a high percentage of their games over the last month and a half, at least some of the credit can be attributed to the coaching staff. The grumblings about poor rotations and bad allocation of minutes have gone silent as Sacramento continues to pile up the victories.

And there have been improvements in certain statistical areas that are making the coaching staff look good as well. Since the All-Star Break, the Kings are ranked 8th in the NBA in defensive rating while playing at the 11th fastest pace in the league. One of Walton’s excuses for the Kings abandoning their trademark pace of play early on was to instill defensive philosophies, which looked silly as the Kings were playing slow and also stopping nobody. Now that they are excelling at both, it seems as though Walton’s early lessons are finally paying off when the Kings need them to the most.

Even if the Kings falter down the stretch and don’t qualify for the playoffs, it is likely that the current sustained success has bought Walton at least another year of being the head coach. This solid run is certainly not the only factor, though.

Walton inked a four-year deal in the offseason, and the Kings are expectedly reluctant to add a third absent head coach to their payroll. They have also recently preached the desire for organizational stability and consistency, so letting a coach find his footing before pulling the trigger on a termination might be a wise move for Sacramento.

Our assumptions are just that, and there aren’t many people who know what Ranadive is thinking or planning. Given the recent news that he “can’t get over” the Luka Doncic situation, there may be a change coming to the front office rather than the coaching staff.