Shortly after the Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Luke Walton, the Sacramento Kings requested an interview after firing head coach Dave Joerger.
Even before Walton’s eventual firing after three seasons, the 39-year-old head coach was already linked to some young teams including the Cleveland Cavaliers.
As general manager Rob Pelinka reportedly will conduct the team’s coaching search, it appears Walton will not be on the market for long.
Kings general manager Vlade Divac met with Walton and are finalizing a multi-year deal, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic:
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
When Walton returned to the Lakers prior to the 2016-17 NBA season, the thought process was he was a young head coach who could grow with the young core. As the Lakers improved by nine wins in each of his first two seasons, the expectations changed when LeBron James signed.
If Walton is officially the new Kings head coach, they provide him a similar opportunity to what he initially had with the Lakers. Hopefully for Walton, the Kings — who have not had much stability either — will give him the necessary time to develop the young core into playoff contenders.