Kings hire Luke Walton

[ppine]

I voted unsure. Luke did not do so well with the best player in the game and a car load of first round talent, with Magic Johnson , the Buss family, the best fan base around and the ghost of Jerry West. He is the clear choice, but his track record is still unproven. He will have many fewer resources in Sacto, but a group of young guys with potential. Joerger got the team to the next level, near a .500 record and respectability. Now the momentum needs to continue. We'll see.

I do like his Dad. I used to run into Grateful Red at concerts. I love the legacy of John Wooden and the Conference of Champions. I get his humor and all the geographical references and hyperbole.

 

[steelevt]

Except he did friend. They were the hot up and coming team before this season, and were well above .500 pre injury and Anthony Davis nonsense.

Not only that but when luke took over he improved the team wins by 9 games each season not counting last. Everyone making a big deal about kings winning 12 more games. Even though it's a big accomplishment, what Walton has done is pretty significant too.

 

[King Baller]

Suuuuuuuuuuuuuure

I dont buy it. The nonsense from Vlade "Oh, we could have been better this year, blah blah" when a major issue was his roster building and doing things like trading Shump which at the very least tanked the locker room for a couple weeks. Shumpert wasn't some godsend player who was playing all that well, but dont think its a coincidence the team losing its swagger they had the first half of the year directly correlated to when Shump left.

Dude improved the team by 12 wins. That's insanely good. People are undervaluing how freaking hard that is when you dont add a LeBron James or Kevin Durant type player to your roster. Or the fact that almost ALL of our growth came from within house.

It's a shame he's getting blasted by fans and just let Vlade slide on literally everything that might be questionable. Its interesting that "we" as the collective jumped on Joerger for overachieving with a faulty roster and praise Vlade for years and years of mostly poor decisions, a couple good moves and lucking into 2 franchise cornerstones. I think all the "FO turmoil" and "players dont like him" was blown up to give Vlade the excuse to get the exact coach he wanted. Smart organizations just don't can a coach that improves your team by 12 wins after 12+ years of being in the gutter for some supposed "drama" especially once Williams was let go.

My random thoughts on this:
Are not all draft picks shrouded in luck? Vlade made the picks. He gets hammered for mistakes but good decisions are all "luck"???
Joerger did a fine job of allowing the young Kings players to grow and improved the record by 12 games. he was paid handsomely for it. He gets paid next season unless he gets another job.
Vlade did cut loose the men in the organization who proved they could not be the wiser more mature person and get along with there fellow Kings employee's.
You stated Vlade got "the exact coach he wanted." What is wrong with that?

 

[BigVirg]

I voted unsure. Luke did not do so well with the best player in the game and a car load of first round talent, with Magic Johnson , the Buss family, the best fan base around and the ghost of Jerry West. He is the clear choice, but his track record is still unproven. He will have many fewer resources in Sacto, but a group of young guys with potential. Joerger got the team to the next level, near a .500 record and respectability. Now the momentum needs to continue. We'll see.

I do like his Dad. I used to run into Grateful Red at concerts. I love the legacy of John Wooden and the Conference of Champions. I get his humor and all the geographical references and hyperbole.

The best fan base huh? Cough Cough...….That title belongs to Sactown! More COWBELL! I'm excited for this hiring. With our 3pt shooting ability we should be top 5 in 3pt attempts. Stylistically Walton fits the mold perfectly and at the least be able to manage a locker room well. This is an aspect we should not overlook considering his experience with star players and our roster with ascending star players. All in all if we can keep our pace and get more 3pt attempts while running a better defensive scheme I see us making another 10 game jump.

 

[kingsfan1984]

Luke Walton is the trashiest candidate for the job and we signed him

Is this Brandon Williams or dave joeger?

 

[Folsomkingsfan]

Curious who Walton brings in for his staff. I really liked elston turner and Bryan gates as assistants.

 

[ESP47]

From what Laker fans are saying, Luke is bad at X's and O's. They'll run a play and when the first option isn't available, it's just 1 on 1 after that. Players constantly getting in each others way and not knowing where to go. Offense plays out kind of like a 1 read quarterback. If that first option isn't available, then it's panic time.

Their biggest complaint are his rotations. Is in love with playing small ball. They said that Kuzma, Lebron and even Hart have spent time at center this year. Saying don't be surprised to see Barnes at center for us this year.

The thing I'm worried about is we have talented big men and we're hiring a coach who doesn't utilize big men very well at all. If he tries to run Marvin at the 5 with Barnes at the 4 for big minutes, you can pretty much kiss the 8th seed goodbye. If the Kings sign Vucevic...will that bury Giles on the bench? I just don't think Luke is the right fit for this roster.

Laker fans are almost unanimously saying that Luke got dealt a raw deal in LA but they still don't think he's a good coach. Many of them would rather have Joerger.

 

[SLAB]

Curious who Walton brings in for his staff. I really liked elston turner and Bryan gates as assistants.

https://twitter.com/statuses/1117460525061943297

Here’s one who won’t be coming. And good. Madsen can go kick rocks still.

 

[dude12]

Curious who Walton brings in for his staff. I really liked elston turner and Bryan gates as assistants.

Bob Thornton is an excellent big man coach.....we are going to lose these guys

 

[dude12]

From what Laker fans are saying, Luke is bad at X's and O's. They'll run a play and when the first option isn't available, it's just 1 on 1 after that. Players constantly getting in each others way and not knowing where to go. Offense plays out kind of like a 1 read quarterback. If that first option isn't available, then it's panic time.

Their biggest complaint are his rotations. Is in love with playing small ball. They said that Kuzma, Lebron and even Hart have spent time at center this year. Saying don't be surprised to see Barnes at center for us this year.

The thing I'm worried about is we have talented big men and we're hiring a coach who doesn't utilize big men very well at all. If he tries to run Marvin at the 5 with Barnes at the 4 for big minutes, you can pretty much kiss the 8th seed goodbye. If the Kings sign Vucevic...will that bury Giles on the bench? I just don't think Luke is the right fit for this roster.

Laker fans are almost unanimously saying that Luke got dealt a raw deal in LA but they still don't think he's a good coach. Many of them would rather have Joerger.

This has potential to derail all momentum Joerger built. I guess we can take comfort in Walton being such a good person according to Steve Kerr and he’s going to really build those relationships. I need the sarcasm emoji.

 

[kingsfan1984]

Not too excited. I dont think Walton is better suited than Joerger to address defensive problems. Walton is stepping into a pressure-cooker - the management (and fan-base) is expecting playoffs immediately. Kings must bring their opponents scoring average down 2-3 pts while keeping a similar offensive output from this last season.

Not so sure its playoffs or bust. I think the expectation is to be competing for the final spot down the stretch and to be more competitive than last year.

 

[kingsfan1984]

This has potential to derail all momentum Joerger built. I guess we can take comfort in Walton being such a good person according to Steve Kerr and he’s going to really build those relationships. I need the sarcasm emoji.

Seeing g how momentum was in a nose dive post All star break, breaking that trend would be a positive

 

[SLAB]

Not so sure its playoffs or bust. I think the expectation is to be competing for the final spot down the stretch and to be more competitive than last year.

Playoffs or bust is shortsighted at best. Playoffs is a good high end goal, it’s slightly realistic, but the way this team closed the season it would be unfair to put that pressure on everyone.

45 wins. Continue to improve from last season. Hopefully see the beginnings of a beautiful well-oiled machine between Coach/Team/Front Office. Anything more is icing on the cake.

 

[kingsfan1984]

From what Laker fans are saying, Luke is bad at X's and O's. They'll run a play and when the first option isn't available, it's just 1 on 1 after that. Players constantly getting in each others way and not knowing where to go. Offense plays out kind of like a 1 read quarterback. If that first option isn't available, then it's panic time.

Their biggest complaint are his rotations. Is in love with playing small ball. They said that Kuzma, Lebron and even Hart have spent time at center this year. Saying don't be surprised to see Barnes at center for us this year.

The thing I'm worried about is we have talented big men and we're hiring a coach who doesn't utilize big men very well at all. If he tries to run Marvin at the 5 with Barnes at the 4 for big minutes, you can pretty much kiss the 8th seed goodbye. If the Kings sign Vucevic...will that bury Giles on the bench? I just don't think Luke is the right fit for this roster.

Laker fans are almost unanimously saying that Luke got dealt a raw deal in LA but they still don't think he's a good coach. Many of them would rather have Joerger.

How did the head to head Walton vs Joeger matchups go? I recall a miracle ending in one and embarrassing losses against a depleted roster in others. With his love of small ball, he seemed to play that card just right as we watched Mcgee look like an all star center against us as Walton and compmay spanked joeger and the kings fighting for a playoff birth. Also of note this was during one of the most disruptive sequences and chemistry nuke blew up in their lockerroom. Fact that he held thise broken parts together and picked up some unexpected wins is a feather in his cap. Id say post all star break, given the circumstances, Walton hot a lot more from the crap hand he was dealt comparef to Joeger and the devastation of replacing Shump and JJ with Barnes and Burks

Hiw about we compare that fiasco in laker land and how Walton handled it with Joeger handling the kings trading Jackson and Shump for Burks and Barnes? One situation seems levels more difficult than the other.

 

[SLAB]

I hope McGee follows Luke up north, BTW.

 

[ApolloDaGod]

Except he did friend. They were the hot up and coming team before this season, and were well above .500 pre injury and Anthony Davis nonsense.

Such success omg I had no idea that Luke was so prestigious in his accomplishments

 

[kingsfan1984]

I hope McGee follows Luke up north, BTW.

Ive been wanting Mcgee for years as our backup C. His cost is always well under what his value is imo. Thinking its his lowlight reel of occasionally epic mental misfires lol but its not every game or multiple times a game. He runs hard, is a great shot blocker and good rebounder. Good lob threat. Id honesty take his package over WCS because of that shotblocking and rebounding. On offensive they pretty similar

Id be very happy with Brook Lopez and McGee as the centers next 2 years and then spend big for the other spots

 

[Heuge]

Playoffs or bust is shortsighted at best. Playoffs is a good high end goal, it’s slightly realistic, but the way this team closed the season it would be unfair to put that pressure on everyone.

45 wins. Continue to improve from last season. Hopefully see the beginnings of a beautiful well-oiled machine between Coach/Team/Front Office. Anything more is icing on the cake.

Already, it begins. Lower that bar so we can handle failure like a champ. Same team, different story.
If Joerger were still employeed, it would be playoffs or bust. Now, with Walton, I’m already hearing the tired rhetoric of as long as we grow, it’s a success.
Come on now! We should be in playoffs or bust mode. Vlade cannot get a pass if this team does not take that step.

 

[SLAB]

Already, it begins. Lower that bar so we can handle failure like a champ. Same team, different story.
If Joerger were still employeed, it would be playoffs or bust. Now, with Walton, I’m already hearing the tired rhetoric of as long as we grow, it’s a success.
Come in now! We should be in playoffs or bust mode. Vlade cannot get a pass if this team does not take that step.

Nope. Even before Joerger was fired I was saying playoffs would be a Longshot. The second half of the season was a mess, and a closer representation of what we actually are, at least IMHO.

 

[dude12]

How did the head to head Walton vs Joeger matchups go? I recall a miracle ending in one and embarrassing losses against a depleted roster in others. With his love of small ball, he seemed to play that card just right as we watched Mcgee look like an all star center against us as Walton and compmay spanked joeger and the kings fighting for a playoff birth. Also of note this was during one of the most disruptive sequences and chemistry nuke blew up in their lockerroom. Fact that he held thise broken parts together and picked up some unexpected wins is a feather in his cap. Id say post all star break, given the circumstances, Walton hot a lot more from the crap hand he was dealt comparef to Joeger and the devastation of replacing Shump and JJ with Barnes and Burks

Hiw about we compare that fiasco in laker land and how Walton handled it with Joeger handling the kings trading Jackson and Shump for Burks and Barnes? One situation seems levels more difficult than the other.

Walton couldn’t get Lebron into the playoffs which has been almost impossible. See how I can spin things too?

 

[SLAB]

Walton couldn’t get Lebron into the playoffs which has been almost impossible. See how I can spin things too?

I can spin too.

LeBron missed 27 games. Hard for LeBron to do LeBron things when he misses a third of the season.

 

[dude12]

It’s playoffs or bust. This is what happens with such a head coaching move. Expectations are now greater.

 

[Sac.Kings]

Already, it begins. Lower that bar so we can handle failure like a champ. Same team, different story.
If Joerger were still employeed, it would be playoffs or bust. Now, with Walton, I’m already hearing the tired rhetoric of as long as we grow, it’s a success.
Come in now! We should be in playoffs or bust mode. Vlade cannot get a pass if this team does not take that step.

Vlade himself in the press conference said playoffs are the goal next year. I am fairly certain he was expecting playoffs this year too and Joerger wouldn’t manage the roster the way he wanted or was expecting (i.e. Barnes at the 4).

Make no mistake about it, playoffs are the goal. I am quite confident that anything else would be looked at as a significant failure in the eyes of Vlade and the team.

 

[dude12]

I can spin too.

LeBron missed 27 games. Hard for LeBron to do LeBron things when he misses a third of the season.

Well, seems like Waltonshould have kept it together for this team. I recall Joerger in Memphis held that one team together that set the record for games lost due to injury.

 

[Heuge]

Nope. Even before Joerger was fired I was saying playoffs would be a Longshot. The second half of the season was a mess, and a closer representation of what we actually are, at least IMHO.

39-43. 9th seed, 1 spot out of the playoffs.

The next step is a winning record and in the playoffs. Inappropriate, IMO, to ignore the first half of the season. You take the entirety of the year to make an assessment of the year.

 

[kingsfan1984]

Walton couldn’t get Lebron into the playoffs which has been almost impossible. See how I can spin things too?

Expect Lebron missed a 3rd of the season. And how did they do with Lebron before the injury? 4th in the westen conference right?

 

[kingsfan1984]

Well, seems like Waltonshould have kept it together for this team. I recall Joerger in Memphis held that one team together that set the record for games lost due to injury.

Our rookie Bagley went down for a few weeks and how did Joeger do? Where was the memphis magic?
Losing Lebron seems a bigger loss than Bagley

 

[OPrime]

Such success omg I had no idea that Luke was so prestigious in his accomplishments

All great leaders had a time before their prestigious accomplishments began. It takes a keen eye for talent, perceptive vision to find that talent before their greatness shines through. If all GMs had to do is acquire coaches and players after success you could run the show.

 

[Ozymandias]

The Lakers shot under 70% from the FT line too... thats not really on Luke..

Not that the Kings were much better............

 

[kingsfan1984]

Such success omg I had no idea that Luke was so prestigious in his accomplishments

Joeger wasnt fired FOR Walton. Joeger found a way to get himself fired all by himself. The king record was not on the list of reasons he was fired.

Who were you expecting? Kings to entice a top coach to quit and come to Sactown? Who is this coach with his list of prestigious accomplishments you are wanting? George Karl?

THEN vlade hired Walton