NBA Rumor: Luke Walton Hot Seat?
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Kings' decision to keep Luke Walton not financially motivated
Monte McNair confirms Luke Walton won't be fired
Sean Cunningham: Kings GM Monte McNair: “Luke will continue to be our head coach” Credits work with the players, results down the stretch. Says season was disappointing and the fan base deserves better.
James Ham: “Our guy is going to be the one that gets us back to the playoffs and I think Luke is going to be that guy.” -Monte McNair on the decision to retain Walton
Jason Jones: “People can say whatever they want but we know how we feel about each other inside this organization.” De’Aaron Fox when asked about people upset about Luke Walton returning as coach. Fox said it takes time to build, realizes w/o two 9-game losing streaks, things are different.
Sean Cunningham: League sources confirm that Luke Walton will remain the head coach of the Sacramento Kings, as James Ham reported. Much less of a surprise after what transpired after the All-Star break, had respect of the locker room, never made excuses for his team’s shortcomings.
The Sacramento Kings will bring head coach Luke Walton back for a third season, sources confirmed to ESPN. The Kings extended their record-tying 15-year playoff drought after a second consecutive 31-41 season under Walton, who has two years left on his deal.
Kings keeping Luke Walton for next season
James Ham: According to a league source, Luke Walton will continue as head coach of the Sacramento Kings next season.
James Ham: Kings finished the season strong with a 9-7 record over the final 16 games, despite injury and illness.e\ Walton also has a strong working relationship with Kings GM Monte McNair and the front office.
Jason Anderson: Multiple sources now confirming Luke Walton will return to coach the Sacramento Kings next season. Walton told us he was confident he would return, but sources said he didn’t know for sure until today.
Sean Cunningham: And one more thing…. According to numerous sources I’ve spoken to over the course of the past couple of months, Luke Walton’s job also became much more safe when then Timberwolves hired Chris Finch.
James Ham: “I appreciate my working relationship with Monte and I am excited to continue on this journey. I understand that every aspect of our team must be better, and this offseason is the time to take that next step.” -Luke Walton to @NBCSAuthentic on returning for a third season
During his pregame Zoom media session, a reporter asked Walton how confident he was to return for a third season at the helm of the Kings, and he sounded very much like a coach that was not prepping for one of his last two games in Sacramento. “I’m very confident,” Walton said. “I love this group. I love coaching these guys. I’m excited about trying to get Sacramento back into the playoffs.”
Luke Walton 'very confident' he won't be fired
“If you’re not winning as a team, guys get traded, guys who were barely hanging on … get cut and are out the league and coaches get fired,” said Fox, who has seen all of that in his brief career. Perhaps with that in mind, Fox made a broad case for continuity, noting that the best teams are the ones where “players play together longer and develop chemistry, and coaches continue to grow and trust all their players.”
Now, for the money element. The Kings not only owe him a combined $11.5 million after this season but also, according to sources with knowledge of the deal, are unable to stretch those payments out over several years if they fired him.
While coaching contracts often include this kind of stretch provision, the sources said Walton’s deal that was signed in mid-April 2019 does not. Considering the context here, with the Kings known to have lost approximately $100 million as a result of the pandemic, this will certainly play into the decision-making process. If fired, he would have to be paid in accordance with the original timing of the deal.
What does Luke Walton need to do to keep his job through the season and beyond? Amick: The Kings have been battered economically by the pandemic. It’s in the neighborhood of $100 million that they’re projected to lose, so they’re not in the mood to cut a check to Luke Walton for what would by the next two years, $11.5 million. A lot of that is going into the fact that he’s still got a job.
After years of begging and pleading for patience, the Kings exercised a little of their own over the last week. Despite a disappointing first half of the season, Luke Walton is still the head coach of the team heading into the All-Star break and according to league sources, he will continue to lead the team when games resume next Thursday.
Walton has tallied a record of 45-63 during season and a half tenure with the team for an overall win percentage of .417. Surprisingly, that percentage is the highest of any coach since Adelman left the team. That percentage also ranks him second in the Sacramento-era of Kings basketball. New general manager Monte McNair was hired with the understanding that at a minimum, Walton would coach out this season.
Luke Walton safe for now
It was late September in Sacramento, where the city’s only major professional sports team had recently hired its third new front-office leader in a seven-year span. And Monte McNair, the 36-year-old Houston Rockets executive whose pragmatic vision had resonated with owner Vivek Ranadive during the interview process, laid it all out in a series of meetings that included coach Luke Walton and various other team officials. They would take the long view — two to four years — and this season would be what was widely referred to internally, sources say, as a “gap year.”
Yet as the Kings headed into this All-Star break in the kind of position one might expect given this sort of blueprint — 14-22 and 13th in the West — there was a growing sense in league circles that Walton might not make it into the second half of this season because, well, perhaps they would pivot from the plan.
Alvin Gentry would likely take Kings job if Luke Walton dismissed
But sources with knowledge of the Kings’ plans say Walton is not in any imminent trouble and — barring a complete nose-dive in the second half — is likely to last at least through this season. There is a strong sense in coaching circles that Kings associate head coach Alvin Gentry would likely take over if Walton were eventually dismissed, but that time does not appear to be coming anytime soon. Sources say Walton, who was hired by former general manager Vlade Divac in mid-April of 2019, is owed a combined $11.5 million in the next two seasons of his four-year guaranteed deal.
Record aside, sources say the Kings’ priorities that matter the most for the long term are being met and Walton continues to have McNair’s blessing as a result. As for Ranadive, whose tendency to take over has been such a hallmark of his rocky ownership tenure that began in 2013, he appears to be allowing McNair to continue down the path they discussed so many months ago. Despite the swirling doubts to the contrary, it appears their plan is still in place.
Fox, the 23-year-old point guard who signed a five-year, $163 million extension in November, has improved overall and had elite-level stretches where he looks like a future All-Star (23 points, 7.6 assists, 3.2 rebounds per game). What’s more, he has been consistently supportive of Walton both publicly and, sources say, privately.
Luke Walton, Dwane Casey have highest odds to be next coach fired
Harrison Faigen: Luke Walton and Dwane Casey have the highest odds to be the next coaches fired, per @SportsBettingAG pic.twitter.com/wrhc9a4Qzv
New Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair said he is looking forward to working with coach Luke Walton to revive a franchise that has the longest current playoff drought in the NBA. McNair was hired last week to replace Vlade Divac after a long tenure as an executive in Houston. He backed Walton publicly during his introductory news conference Wednesday. “I’ve got to know him the last few days; we’ve had some good conversations,” McNair said. “I’ve heard great things. So far I think we’ve had a great rapport. Luke’s going to be our coach next year. I’m really excited to work with him. I think we’re aligned with our vision and we’re gonna start implementing it.”
James Ham: I have now confirmed through a league source that Luke Walton will coach the Sacramento Kings next season. He is safe for now.
Luke Walton's job safe in Sacramento?
Sam Amick: Source also tells @The Athletic that Kings coach Luke Walton is safe. While the two were on the same contractual timeline (through 2022-23), and Vlade hand-picked Luke, there won’t be another domino falling here.
James Ham: According to a team source, the Kings will allow the new GM to make a decision on the fate of the staff, including Peja Stojakovic, Ken Catanella and coach Luke Walton.
Vlade Divac, Luke Walton safe?
The future of Vlade Divac as general manager is front and center for the frustrated fanbase and some local media, in large part, because of a comment he made in Feb. 2017 about his willingness to resign if the DeMarcus Cousins trade didn’t pan out. But as I reported back in late April, sources still say there’s no indication Divac (or Walton, for that matter) is going anywhere anytime soon.
As is the case with so many teams, the financial pain felt by this pandemic is sure to make any owner think twice about paying anyone to go away after suffering these kinds of losses. The Kings have suffered major losses tied to the real estate they control surrounding the Golden 1 Center, sources say, while having layoffs on the business side as well. There’s just no way that reality doesn’t come into play with any decision of consequence.
Divac and Walton are both in the first year of four-year contracts. Firing them now would mean paying them for three more years — and paying their replacements — something the organization would have been reluctant to do even before the coronavirus pandemic caused tens of millions of dollars in revenue losses. The Kings have underachieved this season, but ownership will want to see what Walton, their 10th coach in the past 14 seasons, can do with a healthy roster before changing course yet again. Divac will get at least one more season as well, although his ultimate fate might have been sealed when he passed on Doncic in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Kings keeping Luke Walton, Vlade Divac?
All that improvement, it appears, lowered the temperature on the hot seats of both Walton and general manager Vlade Divac. As we reported on Feb. 12, owner Vivek Ranadive had made his frustrations known with both the front office and coaching staff during the Kings’ 15-29 start. Questions arose about whether he might be compelled to make changes in the offseason, but sources say Divac and Walton appear very likely to remain (their contracts run through the 2022-23 season).
Kings keeping Divac, Walton for next season
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the pairing of head coach Luke Walton and Vlade Divac is likely to continue into the 2020-21 season, at a minimum. “Owner Vivek Ranadive had made his frustrations known with both the front office and coaching staff during the Kings’ 15-29 start,” Amick writes. “Questions arose about whether he might be compelled to make changes in the offseason, but sources say Divac and Walton appear very likely to remain (their contracts run through the 2022-23 season).”
Luke Walton safe
The injuries haven’t helped Walton. He’s been without Bagley, Holmes, De’Aaron Fox and Bogdan Bogdanovic for extended stretches. “I’m very happy to work with (Walton),” Divac said. “We are on the same page. Obviously, he’s trying different lineups, different styles, dealing with the shortened roster. So I really cannot judge him for anything until he has a full roster, but I’m happy about how he does things in practice, even in the games. We’ve lost a lot of close games with the roster being shorter, it’s a tough job for him.”
De'Aaron Fox endorses Luke Walton
The Kings were winless and looked absolutely dreadful for long stretches. Somehow Walton continued to preach the big picture, even as the current view of the Kings was enough to make one cover their eyes. The message appeared to reach his players. Perhaps it’s most important that point guard De’Aaron Fox was still all in with Walton. “For sure,” Fox said. “We’re going to ride with him. He’s been great since the day that he stepped in. I think we feel like we trust him and he trusts us.”
There isn’t a lot of playoff talk after a 1-5 start, but the big picture remains in focus for Walton and Fox, who seem to have formed a bond since Walton was hired in April. The relationship continues to grow with moments like Friday’s when the coach has to trust Fox to make the right plays in crunch time. “It’s definitely a confidence builder,” Fox said. “And having that trust, you want to continue to get better so that you know it doesn’t look bad, you know what you’re doing out there. It’s definitely great; I feel like he’s helped put me in position to be ready for that opportunity. It’s great. I feel like our relationship has grown extremely fast.”
Luke Walton safe
Know this much about this Kings’ landscape: Barring a drastic change in current conditions, it appears extremely unlikely that any of the principals are getting fired anytime soon – not Walton, nor general manager Vlade Divac. Both men are on the same contractual track, with Divac having been given an extension through the 2022-23 season in April. And both of them, it seems, are in agreement that the answers must be found by staring into that unflattering image in the mirror.
And so, as he shared in an interview with The Athletic on Thursday afternoon at the team’s practice facility in Sacramento, they will look inward. “We know we signed up to be on this journey and grow this team and get this team back into the playoffs and all of that, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Walton said. “It’s not the start we wanted, but the work that’s being done, I think, is the foundation for what’s going to get us there when we’re ready. And maybe…”
He pauses for the briefest of moments to figure out the end of that sentence, and who can blame him? In this loaded Western Conference, where it seems so inevitable that it will take a 50-ish win season to get into the postseason, there is no margin for these types of early errors. “We’ll find out when we’re ready,” he continued. “You know, there’s no way to know. But we’re going to keep pushing these guys, and growing these guys, making sure that we’re playing and continuing to understand what it takes to win at a consistent level in this league. It’s gonna happen.”
Luke Walton’s new job as head coach of the Sacramento Kings is safe – for now. According to a source with knowledge of the team’s plans, they are in the process of working with the NBA to find the truth regarding the sexual assault allegations levied against him by his former colleague at Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum SportsNet), Kelli Tennant. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Kings’ focus was solely on the fact-finding aspect of the serious situation and the prospect of firing him appears to have no momentum at this time.
To that end, it appears the early stages of the investigation have been delayed because all parties involved have had trouble securing copies of the lawsuit that was first reported by TMZ and later detailed by the Los Angeles Times. A spokesman from the Los Angeles Superior Court told The Athletic mid-day Tuesday that the case had yet to show up in their system. Nonetheless, it appears to only be a matter of time before the suit is formally processed. Tennant’s attorney, Garo Mardirossian, is expected to hold a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the allegations. According to the Times, the alleged incident took place at a Santa Monica hotel during Walton’s time as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors (2014-16).
A source with knowledge of the situation had previously told The Athletic on Monday that Kings general manager Vlade Divac had no previous knowledge of the accusations until the report surfaced and that it was too early in this fact-finding process to explore the possibility of terminating Walton’s contract (many coaching contracts are known to have a moral turpitude clause that might allow the team to void the contract in this sort of situation, but it’s unclear if that’s the case with Walton’s deal). Divac, whose final NBA season (2003-04) came alongside Walton with the Lakers during his second season in the league, had pegged Walton as a likely replacement long before firing Joerger. Then just two days after Divac was given a four-year extension that runs through 2022-23, he was coming to terms on a four-year deal with Walton that would put them on the same timeline. The Kings, who considered candidates like Monty Williams and Ettore Messina but did not interview them, appeared to have been as stunned by the report as everyone else.
Jason Anderson: A league source tells The Sacramento Bee that Kings GM Vlade Divac was unaware of sexual assault allegations against Luke Walton until last night. Source says it’s too soon in investigatory process to say whether Walton’s contract could be terminated.
Luke Walton to replace Dave Joerger?
Sam Amick: Can confirm @Adrian Wojnarowski report that Kings GM Vlade Divac will fire coach Dave Joerger today. Lakers coach Luke Walton – if available – is the clear frontrunner here, per sources. Former New Orleans coach Monty Williams is also a strong candidate, as is Spurs asst. Ettore Messina.
Ramona Shelburne: Luke Walton went to the Lakers training facility this morning and is participating in player exit meetings as the team’s coach, sources tell ESPN.
Tania Ganguli: The Lakers passed out a schedule for today’s exit interviews. The past 2 years Luke Walton has been on it. He isn’t today. Their plan was to have Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka talk today, too. Johnson is obviously off the table but Pelinka is also not scheduled to talk.
But there was initially some pause from Buss, who was sensitive to the likelihood that the pursuit of Lue and Jackson would be perceived as James and his agent Rich Paul running the show and spearheading the coaching search, sources said. Eventually, Buss’ concerns were alleviated after she reiterated the Lakers are a “Buss-ran organization,” sources said.
Lakers owner Jeanie Buss recently gave Magic Johnson permission to fire coach Luke Walton at the conclusion of this season after being informed of Walton’s unwillingness to “bulk up” his coaching staff, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Johnson, who held an impromptu news conference outside the Lakers’ locker room Tuesday to announce his resignation as president before the team’s final game of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers, had been displeased with Walton’s ability to effectively make in-game adjustments and he felt the coaching staff lacked the experience and expertise to foster player development, sources said.
Johnson wanted to replace Walton during the season, but Buss was reluctant to venture down that road until now, sources said. The 59-year-old business mogul told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday he had the power to do what he saw fit for the franchise and said what would have transpired after exit interviews on Wednesday had nothing to do with why he made the shocking decision to resign.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Luke Walton has two years left on his contract, but only next season is guaranteed, per source. Lakers hold option on 2020-21 season. Johnson planned to fire him, but stumbled into his own resignation on the way. Somehow, Walton survived Magic Johnson. He didn’t see that coming.
Dave McMenamin: Magic Johnson says the decision was not over Luke Walton’s job status. He says making this announcement, which, Jeanie Buss isn’t aware of yet, is a “monkey off my back.”
Adrian Wojnarowski: Lakers coaching staff fully expected to be fired in hours after the final game of the season. They had believed they were gone for months. Now? Magic quits in public, saying he’s too scared to tell Jeanie Buss face-to-face. What an embarrassing episode for a historic franchise.
Tania Ganguli: Magic Johnson steps down as Lakers president. He hasn’t said it outright but is hinting strongly that he planned to fire Luke Walton and that won’t happen now. He is getting emotional and hasn’t told Jeanie yet he says.
Dave McMenamin: Luke Walton asked before Game 82 if he has any anxiety about his future with the Lakers: “No. No anxiety. … But call me later tonight and maybe that answer will be different”
Bill Oram: Bill Walton is at the game tonight in a Lakers polo. He and wife Lori are here as “very proud parents,” he said. The uncomfortable subtext is that it is widely thought this could be Luke’s last game at the helm for the Lakers.
Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss intends to let her front office of Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka make the decision on whether to retain embattled coach Luke Walton after the season concludes, sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN.
Buss has been one of Walton’s staunchest allies during his three seasons in L.A. However, his working relationship with Johnson and Pelinka has not been as close. It has been “weeks” since Walton had a meaningful conversation with Johnson, according to team sources.
Walton had reason to be concerned. At one point during the season, the Lakers reached out to former Nets and Bucks coach Jason Kidd to gauge his interest in coaching the team, should the position become available, a source told Frank Isola of The Athletic. A high-ranking Lakers official disputes this claim.
One version of events that circulated within the Lakers’ walls — and does not bode well for Walton’s future — suggested that it was the coach’s desire to play James off the ball more that inspired the team’s emphasis on playmakers. A source with knowledge of Walton’s thinking vehemently refuted the assertion, indicating that the sequence of events has been unfairly flip-flopped: Walton was given all these players who weren’t strong shooters but could handle the ball, and thus had no other choice but to find a way to play LeBron off the ball more. Other sources said the coaching staff was not consulted about potential targets in free agency, and that Walton was only looped in very late in the process.
At one point, some in Walton’s circles feared Paul was trying to use the Davis situation to leverage a coaching change, with the premise being that his arrival would require a higher-caliber coach. But the Lakers received backchannel information that Davis liked Walton and that relieved pressure on the third-year head coach.
Juwan Howard candidate for Lakers head coach
Marc Stein: Miami Heat assistant coach Juwan Howard would indeed be a candidate for the Lakers’ head coaching job, I’m told, if it opens as so many around the league have expected for weeks. Yet I’m also told he should not be billed as the frontrunner … as some bookmakers have this week
Changes are expected this offseason. Many have speculated that Luke Walton, the former Warriors assistant, is likely out as coach. “I wish him the best for the future,” Curry said. “Who knows what will happen. But he’s a great coach. Anybody would be lucky to have him leading the team.”
“He’s holding up fine,” Steve Kerr said. “Luke is born for this job. He really is. Not only his basketball mind, which is top notch, but he’s a guy that has as good a feel for the game as anybody I’ve ever been around. His temperament is perfect for this job. Luke has done a great job in keeping his poise and keeping his team playing and just handling all of the storm that has been thrown their way.”
Walton has two years remaining on his contract, the first of which is guaranteed. “I think he is a hard worker, and he is somebody that players gravitate towards, and he’s, I think, done an incredible job under a lot of challenging circumstances,” Buss said.
Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss sidestepped a question about Luke Walton’s future with the franchise during a live podcast taping this week yet made sure to praise the embattled coach. “I’m not going to give you the answer to that question,” Buss said when asked about Walton remaining as coach in her appearance on the Sports Business Radio Road Show on Tuesday at Loyola Marymount University.
Luke Walton is heavily favored to be fired as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers before the start of next season. BetOnline.ag has set the odds of Walton being the Lakers’ head coach for opening night in 2019 at +1000. Los Angeles is going to miss the playoffs this season, the first year of the LeBron James era. Walton and Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson had a heated meeting earlier in the season after Los Angeles got off to a slow start.
There’s a new and familiar name with strong connections to LeBron James atop the latest odds for the next Lakers head coach, at least according to one Sportsbook. The folks at BetOnline have Juwan Howard as a 4-1 favorite to become the Lakers head coach next season, with current Lakers head coach Luke Walton and former Cavaliers head coach Ty Lue following close behind at 7-1. Meanwhile, former betting favorite Jason Kidd has fallen to 9-1.
The intensity and specificity of the reports around a potential successor have invited speculation that the Lakers have informally started their search while Walton is still on the job — something Walton said he has not concerned himself with. “I just view it as outside noise unless someone from within tells me that that happened,” Walton told The Athletic. “Unless someone from within our group is telling me that, I just view it like all the other things we’ve gone through as a team this year. Those are things that I don’t have the time to worry about. I’ve got more important things to do like getting the team better and doing my job.”
The Clippers’ Doc Rivers isn’t the only championship (and currently employed) coach said to interest the Los Angeles Lakers. I’m told that the Lakers, who are widely expected to dismiss the beleaguered Luke Walton at season’s end, are also big fans of Dallas’ Rick Carlisle.
Who, then, will the Lakers hire? The name most frequently cited in league coaching circles is the very available Tyronn Lue. Lue, of course, is a former Laker who is better known for having coached LeBron James for 2 1/2 seasons in Cleveland. The presumed acceptance he would have from James, who is about to begin his first postseason as a spectator since 2005, would appear to give Lue with a significant advantage over the rest of the field.
And yet it is clear that he prefers the NBA. From what I’m told, if the Lakers do let him go, he will have plenty of options around the league. Walton previously worked briefly as an assistant to his former Arizona teammate, Josh Pastner, when Pastner was at Memphis, but he came away from that experience disenchanted with college coaching. It is unclear whether Walton would be willing to put in the time and effort required to recruit the caliber of player he would need to win at UCLA.
Luke Walton’s job as head coach is in serious jeopardy, to the point where he’s viewed in some circles as a lame duck. Rajon Rondo, Reggie Bullock, JaVale McGee, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Tyson Chandler and Mike Muscala are all on expiring contracts. That’s a whole lot of people to come to work with who probably won’t be on the job in L.A. next season.
Walton has a year left on the four-year contract he signed in 2016, and firing the 38-year-old would cause considerable heartburn for officials within the organization who, according to team sources, continue to advocate for him.
Ric Bucher: It was first reported elsewhere in January as a possibility, but a source reiterated this week: If Luke Walton is out with Lakers, a certain UCLA alum named Bill is working behind the scenes to have him land with the Bruins.
The prevailing assumption in league coaching circles remains that Walton will almost certainly be dismissed after the season, followed by the Lakers resuming their trade quest for Davis. But denying Walton an opportunity to at finish out a season wrought with drama and distraction since James’s first dribble in purple and gold would be cruel and needless.
Cowherd: “…Well, I mean, I will say this, and I’m not going to blame anybody for this. But I have a source who I trust and I think it’s 10% Luke Walton is the coach next year and 90% he’s not. I’ll say that, you react to it…it would take getting into the playoffs, knocking off a Denver, it would take things I don’t think this club is capable of. Haynes: “I wouldn’t dismiss that.”
Cowherd: “If I said there’s another coach out there…do you have in mind another coach for the Lakers next year? Haynes: “Well, obviously Tyronn Lue. I mean, LeBron James, the day Lue got fired LeBron James put a tweet out supporting him. ‘You know how to contact me if you need me.’”
There have been no internal discussions about Lakers coach Luke Walton’s job status in the wake of the team’s loss to the lowly Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night, according to people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly on the sensitive matter. Walton “will definitely finish the season” and has the full support of the Lakers’ front office, one person said.
Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka are all on the same page regarding Walton being the coach for the rest of the season, the people said. Buss especially wants to give Walton every opportunity to succeed, one person said. “Nothing is going to happen with Luke,” that person said. “There hasn’t even been any talk about it and there won’t be any talks about it. Luke will definitely finish the season and he has the full support. So any talk in the media or on social media can be put to bed about Luke. He’s not going anywhere. There has been no conversation about it.”
During the loss to the Hawks in Atlanta, there seemed to be some “disconnect” between Walton and the players, one person said. LeBron James didn’t look “totally engaged,” despite producing a triple-double of 28 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds, one person said. Another person said all the players had “bad body language” during the loss, which dropped the Lakers below .500 (28-29) for the first time since November. The Lakers are currently 10th in the Western Conference standings, 2½ games behind eighth-place Sacramento (30-26) for the final playoff spot.. Another person said that Johnson, who was at the game in Atlanta, didn’t like how the team played with such “low energy”.
Ohm Youngmisuk: On Luke Walton, Rob Pelinka says he thinks Walton “has done a really good job” this season with all the injuries and circumstances that the team has faced. Pelinka says he and Magic Johnson often talk with Walton and allow Walton to make all decisions with playing time and rotations. But the GM reiterates that he thinks Walton is doing a good job.
Mike Bresnahan: Here’s what Lakers GM Rob Pelinka said about Coach Luke Walton… “Luke’s done an amazing job,” he said, adding that the front office and Walton were “totally unified.” “Our communication is lockstep,” he said.
Jason Kidd, now living back in Phoenix, has been promoting himself to succeed Luke Walton as Lakers coach. Kidd wants back in while he still pockets $5 million this season from the Bucks, along with another $5 million he’ll get from Milwaukee next season.
Now it appears the Lakers may have zeroed in a potential replacement, as Ric Bucher explained on the “Bucher and Friends” podcast that there’s mutual interest with Jason Kidd: “There’s another development that I’m hearing is gaining momentum, and that’s the possibility of Jason Kidd returning to the coaching ranks by succeeding Luke Walton with the Lakers. Now, I first heard Kidd’s name connected with the Lakers a while back. Right about the time the first round of, ‘Is Luke Walton on the hot seat?’ stories came out. Jeanie Buss, head of the Lakers, threw a bucket of water on that seat, cooled it off. And so I tucked away the talk of Kidd and the Lakers as something at the time, simply spitballing or connecting dots that weren’t necessarily part of the same mosaic. Now, I know that Kidd wants to coach again. And I know he expressed interest in the Knicks job before David Fizdale ultimately got it. … In the case of Jason and the Lakers, I figured it was a matter of Jason letting them know he was interested, and the Lakers saying, ‘Thanks, we’ll get back to you.’ Well, now sources are saying that the Lakers have actually gotten back to him and this has gone to the next level. And if the Lakers do make a move on Luke, which based on all of the rumblings could happen sooner rather than later, Kidd appears to be very much in the mix and possibly is even the favorite.”
June 23, 2021 | 9:04 am EDT Update
Nate McMillan has reservations about coaching Hawks next season?
While McMillan is the team’s “interim’’ head coach, sources made it abundantly clear Hawks management would love to remove the interim title. However, sources also said the 56-year-old McMillan has some reservations whether he wants to be the permanent head coach and may prefer some other role in the organization. Money won’t factor into McMillan’s decision as he is financially set, sources said.
The 24-year-old is just fearless, and it’s that kind of bravado that has everything to do with the Suns taking these two games without Chris Paul while he continues to go through COVID protocol. Beverley bothered him defensively, but Booker never backed down. I asked him afterward if their back-and-forth was good, old-fashioned playoff basketball, or if perhaps Beverley and the Clippers were going too far with the physicality. “That’s for you guys to decide,” he said. “They’re an aggressive team. That’s how they guard. All those guys, they’re athletic. Watching the previous series against Dallas and Utah, (they’re) switching everything and trying to turn teams over. But we’re figuring it out and we try to stay aggressive, stay with what we do and whether it’s basketball plays or not, we’ve got to move on to the next one.”
“CP has taken Cam Payne under his wing,” he said. “When you see Cam Payne coming into practice with Chris Paul, you’re wondering, you know — Chris Paul is usually the one here early and you see Cam Payne right behind him and you tend to ask questions, them two been together watching film, lifting weights together stuff like that. You could tell that Cam really took a different approach to a whole other level and he did it right in front of our eyes. Like I said, he was bound to have one of these games and he’s a guy who keeps it consistent. He plays hard both ends of the ball, and I just love his passion.”
“We want everybody to cherish this moment because we are built for this,” Antetokounmpo said. “That’s why we are here. No matter the pressure, no matter what’s going on, we are built for this. We believe in who we are. No matter what happens, win or lose, we’ll stay together and we’re just going to go out there and compete.” Antetokounmpo delivered for the Bucks in the series finale against the Nets with 40 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. For the series, he averaged 28.8 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists.
Against Brooklyn, Antetokounmpo averaged 40.1 minutes per game, the most he has averaged in any series and by far the most he has averaged since Budenholzer became coach in 2018. Antetokounmpo played 50 of 53 minutes in Game 7. “I’ve prepared my body all year for moments like that, being able to play 40 minutes, 42, 45, 48, whatever it may be, 53,” he said. “(Budenholzer) knows the way I am. If I get tired I’m going to let him know. If I get tired and I need a 30-second break or a minute-break, usually we have a great way to communicate about that – that he can pull me out and put me right back.”
Two people who have played important roles behind the scenes for the Hawks are Larry Riley and Mike McNeive. Riley, once an assistant coach and scout for the Bucks, is a senior advisor to Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk. Before joining the Hawks, Riley played a major role in the enormous success of the Golden State Warriors as be drafted Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson while being the team’s general manager. McNeive, who worked as an advance scout and assistant coach for the Bucks during the George Karl regime, is the Hawks director of basketball operations.
June 23, 2021 | 5:32 am EDT Update
Nets upset with Kyrie Irving?
Sullivan is the author of “Can’t Knock the Hustle: Inside the Season of Protest, Pandemic, and Progress with the Brooklyn Nets’ Superstars of Tomorrow,” which released on Tuesday. In a conversation with our friends from Celtics Wire on their podcast, Celtics Lab, Sullivan said that Nets ownership was unhappy with Irving over his midseason “pause,” and that Irving could be available for the right offer.
