Source: Kings finalizing agreement with veteran NBA assistant coach Rex Kalamian
The Kings are bringing veteran NBA assistant Rex Kalamian back to Sacramento to fill out Luke Walton’s coaching staff after Bob Beyer left last week to join the New Orleans Pelicans.
A league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings were finalizing an agreement Thursday with Kalamian, confirming a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The team later issued a news release to make the move official.
“I’m excited to add Rex’s experience and perspective to the team,” Walton said. “His nearly 30 years in the league will benefit our group and I look forward to working with him.”
Kalamian is a longtime NBA assistant who previously worked in Sacramento under Reggie Theus and Kenny Natt from 2007-09. He spent the past two seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Kalamian will work under Walton and associate head coach Alvin Gentry, who was hired as Walton’s top assistant after five seasons as head coach in New Orleans. The Pelicans replaced Gentry with Stan Van Gundy, who hired Beyer last week.
Kalamian started his NBA coaching career as an assistant with the Clippers from 1995-2003, where he worked under Gentry for the final three seasons. Kalamian served as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets in 2004-05 and the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2005-07 before coming to the Kings organization in 2007.
Kalamian then spent six seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he served as a lead assistant to head coach Scott Brooks in 2013-14 and 2014-15. He was part of Dwane Casey’s staff with the Toronto Raptors from 2015-18 before returning to California to work under former Clippers coach Doc Rivers.
This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 3:41 PM.
