Sports
Kings Rumors: Luke Walton, Vlade Divac ‘Very Likely’ to Return Next Season
Rich Pedroncelli/Associated PressThe Sacramento Kings are reportedly not planning major changes to their front office or coaching staff during the 2020 offseason. Sam Amick of The Athletic reported coach Luke Walton and vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac are expected to return next season. Both were considered to be on the hot seat after the Kings began…
Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press
The Sacramento Kings are reportedly not planning major changes to their front office or coaching staff during the 2020 offseason.
Sam Amick of The Athletic reported coach Luke Walton and vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac are expected to return next season. Both were considered to be on the hot seat after the Kings began the season 15-29, but they rebounded to go 13-7 over their final 20 games before the NBA season was indefinitely postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Walton was in his first season as Kings coach, coming over after a disappointing three-year stint with the Los Angeles Lakers. This, in all likelihood, will be his fourth season as an NBA coach without a playoff berth.
“I think where we're at now, looking back on the whole thing, I'd say I'm very pleased with this season,” Walton told Amick. “And that's not to take away that we needed to start the season (better), we needed to be better to start the season. There's things we wanted to accomplish throughout that that we didn't get done, but what it's about is when you're coming into a new team, it's about building a culture, it's about getting to know your players, getting (everyone) on the same page, and as the season goes, it's about getting better. And I truly feel right now that we're a much better team than we were to start the season.”
The Kings were always bound to have a bit of a regression after outplaying their talent in 2018-19. Pressure on Marvin Bagley to become a solid NBA player mounts with every Luka Doncic bucket, and De'Aaron Fox plateaued after a strong second season.
Add in tensions between Walton and Buddy Hield—which Walton said have been overblown—and this was always a recipe for a shaky season. As Walton notes, they're in the first year of what the franchise hopes are years' worth of building, not another rebuild.
While the Kings have not exactly been the most patient organization under owner Vivek Ranadive, it would've been foolhardy to move on from Walton or Divac this soon. Both are under contract through 2022-23.
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