Why Kings coach Luke Walton is ‘not concerned’ despite uncertain future in Sacramento
Coach Luke Walton faced more questions about his future in Sacramento as another disappointing season of Kings basketball ended with a 121-99 loss to the Utah Jazz on Sunday evening at Golden 1 Center.
Walton continued to preach the importance of relationships and pointed to the play of De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Harrison Barnes and Richaun Holmes as signs of progress. Walton maintained he is confident he will return next season, but he still had not been given any assurances from the organization with exit interviews set to begin Monday.
Walton’s job security has been the subject of speculation since general manager Monte McNair was hired to replace Vlade Divac in September, but Walton said the uncertainty doesn’t concern him.
“It doesn’t weigh on me because it’s the same thing I always talk about — it’s control what you can control — the same message I give my players every day,” Walton said. “To me, the storyline and the focus of Sacramento right now should be on this team and the excitement of what we saw out of our young rookie in Tyrese and the progress that De’Aaron Fox made and the year Richaun Holmes and Harrison Barnes had, and even Buddy — watching Buddy continue to grow and start having games with seven or eight assists and low turnovers.
“That’s what we should be talking about as a group and as an organization. So if you ask me, I’ll tell you, no, I’m not concerned at all because it doesn’t do anything for me or the group to be concerned, so we’ll stay focused on the positive and the good things. Like I continue to say, I’m excited about this group and excited about our future.”
The Kings went 31-41 to finish 12th in the Western Conference for the second year in a row. They missed the playoffs for the 15th consecutive season, matching the longest postseason drought in NBA history, but despite their struggles, there were some positive developments.
Fox took another step toward becoming an All-Star, averaging a career-high 25.2 points and 7.2 assists after signing a maximum five-year, $163 million extension with clauses to reach the $195.6 million super max. Haliburton, the No. 12 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, is expected to finish in the top three in Rookie of the Year voting after averaging 13.0 points, 5.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game. Holmes averaged career highs of 14.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. Barnes had one of the best years of his nine-year NBA career, averaging 16.1 points and career-highs of 6.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting a career-best 49.7% from the field.
“I’m very pleased and excited with a lot of the progress we made from a team standpoint and individuals,” Walton said. “You go down the line and I could make a case that even guys like Harrison, who’ve had some really good years in their career, to me he was playing some of his best basketball. … You can go down the line and, to me, that’s something that’s working.
“… Look, we’re all frustrated. We want to be part of a postseason. I know the organization does, the fans do, the media does, so that part of it is disappointing, but you’ve got to look at the good, too, and the progress that so many of these guys have made this year.”
By the numbers
The Kings enjoyed winning streaks of three, four and five games. They won six of seven to move a game over .500 in early February, but that stretch was followed by the first of two nine-game losing streaks. The Kings won seven of nine late in the season to close on the San Antonio Spurs for the final play-in spot, but they were eliminated from playoff contention with a 116-110 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday.
Walton said improving the team’s defense will be a big focal point going into the offseason. The Kings were 11th in the NBA in scoring (113.7 ppg) and 12th in offensive rating (112.7), but they were 28th in scoring defense (117.4 ppg) and 30th in defensive rating (116.5).
Those kinds of numbers often get coaches fired, but Walton has worked through two of the most difficult and disjointed seasons in NBA history due to the coronavirus pandemic. McNair and team owner Vivek Ranadivé also have to consider that parting ways with Walton now would be costly for the Kings, who still owe him $11.5 million over the next two seasons after losing upwards of $100 million as a result of the pandemic.
The Kings have already churned through 10 coaches in 15 seasons since Rick Adelman was fired after leading the team to eight consecutive playoff appearances, but riding the coaching carousel has never improved their fortunes. With a 62-82 record after two seasons, Walton has the highest winning percentage (.431) of any Kings coach since Adelman (.633). Former coach Dave Joerger went 98-148 (.398) over three seasons in Sacramento. George Karl posted a 44-68 (.393) record over parts of two seasons with the Kings.
Need for continuity
Walton has emphasized the importance of relationship building since he came in to replace Joerger, who was fired a day after concluding a 39-win season in 2018-19.
“The best way to build relationships in this league is to put the work in,” Walton said. “To sweat with the guys, be there, talk to them about not just basketball, but other things, and really let them know you care. And when they know that it’s real, then bonds are built and that’s what we’re trying to do here.”
Fox seemingly threw his support behind Walton in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, calling Walton “someone that I’ve grown to trust” while making a case for continuity.
“Everybody wants to continue to grow together and keep this group together, and continue to play for a coach that you trust in,” Fox said.
Walton was asked about Fox’s comments prior to Sunday’s game against the Jazz.
“It’s great,” Walton said. “I put a lot of responsibility onto De’Aaron as far as being one of our leaders, so when you hear someone like that speak up, it’s good because it means they’re listening. What we’re doing is working, even if it doesn’t always result in the amount of wins we want. When you get guys that are saying things like that, and guys that are making the progress that a lot of our players have made this year, that’s a system and a group that’s working, and eventually that leads to more winning and more winning.”
This story was originally published May 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
