Just a day after being let go by the Los Angeles Lakers, Luke Walton has agreed to become the new head coach of the Sacramento Kings, inking a deal that will take him through 2023, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.
The Kings' head-coaching job became vacant when they fired Dave Joerger earlier in the week.
Walton spent three seasons at the helm for the Lakers, going 98-148 and failing to make the playoffs. While his first two seasons in Los Angeles were clearly rebuilding years, Walton entered the 2018-19 campaign with lofty expectations, as LeBron James joined the Lakers as a free agent last summer.
However, due to injuries and a roster that just did not fit, Los Angeles was never really able to put anything together this season and ended up winning just 37 games and missing the postseason, marking the first time a James-led team failed to qualify for the playoffs since 2005.
The Kings, on other hand, seem to be headed in a very positive direction, which made their decision to fire Joerger all the more peculiar.
Expected by most to be a bottom dweller in the Western Conference this season, Sacramento actually won 39 games and was in contention for a playoff spot in the rugged West for a good portion of the year.
With a young and talented roster that features De'Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley III, Walton could find himself in a much better situation in Sacramento than he did in Hollywood.
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