Lakers Rumors: Sacramento Kings have their sights set on Luke Walton
Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors involve head coach Luke Walton, who reportedly has suitors already should the Lakers fire him.
Los Angeles Lakers rumors have been running rampant since Magic Johnson shocked the world and stepped down as the team’s president of basketball operations. A lot of those Lakers rumors have involved people Luke Walton and what will happen with the team’s head coach.
During his interview, Johnson revealed that part of the reason he was stepping down was that he didn’t want to fire Walton, someone that Jeanie Buss has full confidence in.
With Johnson now out of the picture, there is plenty of talk about what will now happen with Walton. Will the organization go through with Magic’s plan and fire Walton? Or will he receive another chance?
There were plenty of factors that played into the team’s lack of success this season. Walton is to blame for some of them, as his rotations and adjustments were lacking sometimes.
However, he can’t be held responsible for the number of injuries that were suffered or be blamed for the roster construction. In fact, had he been listened to, the roster probably would have been more well rounded.
Instead, the Lakers are going to miss the playoffs for the sixth straight year, the longest drought in franchise history. Walton is in limbo, but should the Lakers decide to move on from him, it sounds like he won’t be unemployed for long.
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Walton would be the front runner for the Sacramento Kings’ job should the Lakers fire him as their head coach.
Can confirm @wojespn 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.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) April 11, 2019
Kings’ general manager Vlade Divac was handed an extension earlier today. His first decision after receiving that extension was to fire head coach, Dave Joerger. In addition to Joerger, Divac also fired their assistant general manager, Brandon Williams, and director of media relations, Chris Clark.
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The Kings, like the Lakers prior to the signing of LeBron James, were in a rebuild. Walton has shown that is a job that he can handle well, as the Lakers showed improvement each of his first two seasons on the job relying on the younger guys. Despite all of the distractions and injuries this season, Los Angles did improve their win total for a third consecutive season.
Sacramento would be a good landing spot for Walton should the Lakers decide to fire him. The Kings were nine games out of the playoffs in the Western Conference but showed a lot of improvement this season over the previous one.
De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield are an up-and-coming backcourt duo. Marvin Bagley III and Harry Giles are good building blocks in the frontcourt. Justin Jackson and Bogdan Bogdanovic are solid building blocks on the wings.
Sacramento saw a 12-win increase in 2018-19 over 2017-18, yet Joerger was still fired. Divac and Joerger reportedly didn’t get along, so they severed ties. That just goes to show how important it is that everyone is on the same page within the organization.
Next. 3 Candidates To Replace Luke Walton If He Is Fired. dark
The Lakers will have an important decision to make regarding Walton in the coming days. Is a full house-cleaning coming for Los Angeles, or will they try and make things work with Walton?