From the moment the Sacramento Kings fired head coach David Joerger, the name that popped up as general manager Vlade Divac’s top candidate was Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton. Following Walton and the Lakers mutually parting ways on Friday afternoon, it appears Sacramento is inching closer and closer to bringing him on board.
A report earlier in the day from Sean Cunningham of ABC10 in Sacramento indicated that all signs pointed to Walton becoming the team’s new head coach by the end of the weekend.
The Sacramento Kings could have a new head coach by the end of this weekend & that coach will be Luke Walton – according to sources.
This coaching search moving quicker than the one that led to Dave Joerger is because Vlade Divac is hiring Walton, who he wanted back in 2016
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) April 13, 2019
Sam Amick of The Athletic chimed in by adding that the belief by those close to the situation is that it would be “stunning” if this didn’t come to fruition, and soon after, reported that the two sides were on the verge of finalizing a multi-year deal.
As @SeanCunningham reported, it would be stunning at this point if Luke Walton didn't become the next Kings coach. Source tells @TheAthleticNBA that Kings GM Vlade Divac is meeting with Walton in person today. And again, Walton is his top choice.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) April 13, 2019
Update: Source tells @TheAthleticNBA that Kings GM Vlade Divac and Luke Walton have already met today and are in the late stages of finalizing a multi-year deal.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) April 13, 2019
While Walton didn’t exactly turn heads as the head coach of the Lakers during LeBron James’ first year in Los Angeles, he received praise for what he did with the squad during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns, when he was at the helm of a young squad that out-performed expectations. Sacramento has tons of young talent and finished this past season 39-43, good for ninth place in the conference.
We’ve seen deals fall apart at the one-yard line before, but for now, it sounds like Walton will be tasked with having Sacramento go from just outside the postseason picture to a contender in the West.
