NBA Rumor: Luke Walton Hot Seat?

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8 months ago – via The Athletic

Luke Walton's seat hotter than ever?

The pressure is mounting on Sacramento Kings coach Luke Walton — again. With the Kings (5-8) in the midst of a four-game losing streak heading into a Monday night game at Detroit, sources say the third-year coach’s job status will likely be in peril soon if the current slide continues. The Kings, who started the season 5-4 before falling to Indiana, Phoenix, San Antonio and Oklahoma City, are determined to break their 15-year playoff drought, the NBA’s longest, and Walton won’t be given the same leeway to turn things around as he was last season. Especially when it comes to extended losing streaks.
8 months ago – via Sam Amick @ The Athletic

Monte McNair on Luke Walton: There’s a lot that goes into being a coach these days. And yeah, we felt like we had a lot of positive signs last year. Obviously, we didn’t get where we wanted to go, so we worked on adding depth and defense and Luke acknowledged that we need to be better, certainly on that end of the floor. And we’ve seen some good early returns this year. And so, you know, it’s just staying in that constant communication and hopefully seeing the results on the floor like we’ve seen this early going. You know, we all are trying to — like you said — row the boat in that direction. We’ve all got to get to the playoffs and finally reap that reward.
1 year ago – via Shams Charania, Sam Amick, Shams Charania and Sam Amick @ The Athletic

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.
1 year ago – via Sam Amick, Jason Jones, Sam Amick and Jason Jones @ The Athletic

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.”
1 year ago – via Sam Amick, Jason Jones, Sam Amick and Jason Jones @ The Athletic

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.
1 year ago – via Sam Amick, Jason Jones, Sam Amick and Jason Jones @ The Athletic

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.
2 years ago – via Associated Press @ ESPN

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.”
2 years ago – via Sacramento Bee

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.
2 years ago – via Sam Amick @ The Athletic

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).
2 years ago – via James Ham @ NBC Sports

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).”
2 years ago – via Jason Jones @ The Athletic

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.”
3 years ago – via Jason Jones @ The Athletic

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.”
3 years ago – via Jason Jones @ The Athletic

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.”
3 years ago – via Sam Amick @ The Athletic

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.
3 years ago – via Sam Amick @ The Athletic

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…”
3 years ago – via Sam Amick @ The Athletic

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.”
3 years ago – via The Athletic

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.
3 years ago – via The Athletic

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).
3 years ago – via The Athletic

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.
3 years ago – via Yahoo! Sports

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.
3 years ago – via The Athletic

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.
3 years ago – via Clutch Points

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.
3 years ago – via The Athletic

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.”
3 years ago – via The Athletic

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.
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7 hours ago – via ESPN

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