By keeping Luke Walton, Kings GM Monte McNair has tied himself to a controversial coach

Last Tuesday, Sacramento Kings General Manager Monte McNair confirmed Luke Walton would remain the Kings head coach next season. It might seem a bit strange to confirm Walton would work the third year of his four-year contract, but it was a necessary step for McNair. Walton is a holdover from McNair’s predecessor, Vlade Divac, and has underperformed expectations each of the last two seasons. For most of the last year, the question among Kings fans wasn’t if Walton would be fired, only when he would be fired.

The Kings endured two separate nine-game losing streaks this season, both of which felt like they might have been breaking points that would end Walton’s tenure. The Kings had one of the worst defenses in NBA history, finishing with the second-worst defensive rating ever. And the Kings extended their playoff drought to a record-tying 15 seasons, with added insult that the Kings not only missed the playoffs, but they also missed the newly expanded opportunity to get in the NBA’s play-in tournament. The Kings just needed to be 10th place among 15 teams in the West, and they couldn’t reach that goal. Had McNair decided to fire Walton and conduct a search for his own head coach, nobody would have questioned the decision.

Instead, McNair decided to move forward with Walton, and that puts the pressure squarely on McNair. If Walton struggles again next season, the blame will fall on McNair. Sure, Walton would be the one fired at that point, but McNair’s seat would likely get warm as well.

Without the hope provided by a new coach on the sidelines, McNair now must make other moves to inspire the fan base to continue to care about the NBA’s punching bag. Looking at the options available this summer, McNair doesn’t have an easy task ahead.

On Tuesday, the NBA will conduct a coin flip to break ties in the NBA Draft Lottery order. The result of the coin flips will determine if the Kings are eighth, ninth, or tenth in the lottery standings. Regardless of the final order, the Kings will have a small chance at a top-four pick, but the odds overwhelmingly indicate another late lottery pick for the Kings. McNair struck gold with Tyrese Haliburton at the 12th pick last year, but it’s hard to rely on another falling gem as a surefire way to improve the team.

After the draft the Kings could try to make moves in free agency, but they lack the salary cap space or the drawing power to attract big name free agents. The Kings might have trouble even retaining their own free agents, particularly starting center Richaun Holmes, who is an unrestricted free agent and could draw interest from several contenders.

Which brings us to the trade market, the final tool at McNair’s disposal. Trades are the clearest path forward for the Kings to reshape their roster. Trades could bring cap flexibility, or perhaps even a big-name player who otherwise wouldn’t have signed up to join the Kings. The challenge of trades if finding not just a player who is available via trade, but having a return package to entice the other team to send him to Sacramento.

There’s no surefire path to improving this team, but retaining Walton sent a clear message. McNair doesn’t see Walton as the problem, meaning it’s up to McNair to give Walton a better roster. If the Kings hope to avoid a record-setting 16th season without a playoff appearance, the clock is ticking for McNair.

Greg Wissinger is the managing editor of KingsHerald.com and has covered the Kings since 2009.