Kings hire Luke Walton

[Kingz19]

Well, it helps when you replace a great coach with a great coach. Been a big fan of Walton for a long time and I'm fairly certain if we went back to the previous "who to hire" thread we had before Joerger, he was one of my top guys we should look at .

Most of his decisions are good though? How?

The Bad:

-Trading Shump for a 2020 late 2nd rounder and Alec Burks who did nothing? Noticeable affect on team chemistry and player psyche.
-Drafting Malachi, PapaGiannis and Justin Jackson only to dump or trade them 1 year and a half into their career? Wasted 3 1st round picks
-Drafting Frank Mason over Jordan Bell?
-Trading an unprotected 1st, 2 pick swaps, a former lottery pick and a couple contracts for cap space when he could have just stretched JT and Landry and done the same thing? Only to sign Rondo for a season, Beli and Kosta Koufos to lead us to a 30 win year.
-Being hurt by said pick swap, losing 2 spots in draft capital from #3 pick to #5.
-Firing a coach who just improved your team by 12 wins a day after the season? Yeah I really like Walton, but any sane person would question the validity of getting rid of a coach with that on your resume.
-Letting Seth Curry walk to sign Matt Barnes to $2/12 only to let him walk after 50 games?
-Signing Zach Lavine to a 4/78 offer sheet when we had 2 duplicate guards already with his skill-set? Thankfully saved by the Bulls from ourselves.
-Waiting way too long to trade Boogie and then actually telling people he had a better trade earlier in the week, but didn't jump on it. Buddy and Giles are going to work out okay, but we got absolutely rocked in value in that trade, getting pennies on the dollar for a top 15 player. The haul would have been enormous had we traded him a year earlier.

The Good:

Acquiring Bogdan for Chriss. Although he absolutely failed the Papagiannis pick in the deal, great talent evaluation to have him included in the trade. Although some comments on the board were ready to send him out for a bag of peanuts at one point or another this season, so do they think he's still worth the #8 pick?
-Giles talent evaluation. Another great talent grab here and using a mid-1st round pick to take a calculated gamble on a high upside guy with a ton of talent if he could stay healthy. Just a home-run pick and possibly might define his tenure as a GM if he can breakout and showcase more of that all-star potential we saw.
-De'Aaron Fox. Obvious, but still deserves credit for not overthinking things and making the quality obvious pick. Pick swap could have been disastrous if the Suns were an actual real NBA franchise and took Fox as they should have done in the first place.
-Nemanja Bjelica- Great contract, not tied up long-term, was a huge reason we saw improved play overall. Quality signing


The "Meh, possibly good"
-Harrison Barnes trade. It's good evaluation of our yearly standing in free agency and acquiring a need. I like Barnes and thought he played well for us, but I don't love the idea of being tied to him with a contract like 4/80 to a guy who's probably like a top 80-90 player in the league (if that). Depending on his extension, could end up being a good deal for just Justin Jackson.
-Marvin Bagley. Love the talent, love the growth we saw from Summer league to him being a legit 15/8 by the end of the year. But his status is always going to be tied to Luka Doncic and what he ends up being as a player. If Luka ends up having a HoF career, Bagley can't just be "pretty good" for this pick to be worth it. He's got to hit on being the franchise cornerstone, which thankfully he looks like he's on that path.
-WCS pick. Lower end starter for a 6 overall pick. Could do worse. Not a bust obviously, but not a home-run either. Firmly in the "meh" category

So, all this to say "Started off extremely rough as one of the worst GMs in NBA history, gotten more competent in the past year." What makes you think that "most of his decisions have turned out to be right?"

I don’t know if LaVine could be categorized as bad since we don’t know what the plan was had the Bulls not matched. IMO There is no doubt LaVine would have been an excellent fit and if you didnt notice, the Kings played a SG at SF for the majority of the season. Even after they acquired a true starting SF. In that world, my guess was one of Buddy or Bogdan would’ve become available but it would have been given time.

As for the 2016 draft. I think the majority of 8-30 is already out of the league or if not, on their way out of the league. Vlade missed on all three picks in the worst draft since the Andrew Bennett draft. To hit was to find a needle in a haystack...like Pascal Siakam. Vlade clearly made the most out of the deal by getting Bogdan and 2 swings for a bust and he ultimately ended up with one of the 3 best players from that draft anyway.

Trading Shump was a bad idea because of his influence though maybe Alec Burks usage was a problem for Vlade in regards to Joerger. Burks didn’t even get out of the honeymoon period for the new players before he was in the doghouse. Dude was a scorer/playmaker for Utah and Cleveland. It was clearly an attempt to give relief to Bogdan but he was froze out offensively, Bogdan was shoehorned in the starting 5 to disastrous results, and Burks brushed aside for Brewer.

The Philly trade was of course trash just in principle even though the Kings have IMO averted any significant damage from it...but that’s of course luck. It was also one of Vlades first moves and was an attempt to salvage what was left of the Boogie era by adding veteran players.

In the end, Vlade said in two years the Kings would be noticeably on the right track and I can’t call him a liar.

 

[206Fan]

I don’t know if LaVine could be categorized as bad since we don’t know what the plan was had the Bulls not matched. IMO There is no doubt LaVine would have been an excellent fit and if you didnt notice, the Kings played a SG at SF for the majority of the season. Even after they acquired a true starting SF. In that world, my guess was one of Buddy or Bogdan would’ve become available but it would have been given time.

As for the 2016 draft. I think the majority of 8-30 is already out of the league or if not, on their way out of the league. Vlade missed on all three picks in the worst draft since the Andrew Bennett draft. To hit was to find a needle in a haystack...like Pascal Siakam. Vlade clearly made the most out of the deal by getting Bogdan and 2 swings for a bust and he ultimately ended up with one of the 3 best players from that draft anyway.

Trading Shump was a bad idea because of his influence though maybe Alec Burks usage was a problem for Vlade in regards to Joerger. Burks didn’t even get out of the honeymoon period for the new players before he was in the doghouse. Dude was a scorer/playmaker for Utah and Cleveland. It was clearly an attempt to give relief to Bogdan but he was froze out offensively, Bogdan was shoehorned in the starting 5 to disastrous results, and Burks brushed aside for Brewer.

The Philly trade was of course trash just in principle even though the Kings have IMO averted any significant damage from it...but that’s of course luck. It was also one of Vlades first moves and was an attempt to salvage what was left of the Boogie era

In the end, Vlade said in two years the Kings would be noticeably on the right track and I can’t call him a liar.

I hate this hire because Luke Walton has proved absolutely 0 that he's a good coach in the NBA. We should've just been patient and waited to see if any other coaches become available.

I think he's had a mixture of very good moves with very bad moves. Big thing is, his bad moves gives everyone a pause... but I do think he was worth his contract extension, but I'm still not sold on what he's selling with Luke Walton.

 

[TaxMan]

You know what I find funny? All the Kings fans who laughed at the Lakers throughout the season and said Luke had no clue what he was doing. As soon as he's hired to the Kings? "oh, Luke wasn't the problem, it was LeBron......the 15x all-star."

I don’t personally remember a lot of people laughing at Walton around here. The usual laker hate yes.....but whatever.

 

[Joshoua]

You know what I find funny? All the Kings fans who laughed at the Lakers throughout the season and said Luke had no clue what he was doing. As soon as he's hired to the Kings? "oh, Luke wasn't the problem, it was LeBron......the 15x all-star."

I agree m, it’s only a coincidence that drama and coaches getting fired is everywhere Lebron is.

 

[Kingz19]

You know what I find funny? All the Kings fans who laughed at the Lakers throughout the season and said Luke had no clue what he was doing. As soon as he's hired to the Kings? "oh, Luke wasn't the problem, it was LeBron......the 15x all-star."

Well, that definetly wasn’t me. I was taking heat in the NBA general section for suggesting that Walton was in a tough spot being hired before Magic/Pelinka and the coach killer LeBron. This was back when I and everybody else thought the Lakers would still make the playoffs. Walton’s problem had nothing to do with results just like David Blatt, Mike Brown and surviving victim Eric Spoelstra(Thanks Pat) has nothing to do with results. It’s not denying LeBrons greatness to note all of this...so all this “GOAT”, “x amount all star, first team, MVP, champ” is meaningless in light of this pattern

If at this point people don’t accept that LeBron angles for hands off Yes men (what had Tyronn Lue proved outside of being LeBrons friend? After three finals appearances, what the hell kinda coach is Lue..what’s his philosophy? How come he couldn’t survive a third of the season without LeBron?)...or that he has to the power to dictate who coaches the team...I don’t know what to say to them. I’m not even arguing that he’s wrong. Maybe he doesn’t need those coaches. I just don’t know about judging the coaches who I know have been undermined with no backing from the general manager. We know they can’t do their job to the best of their ability.

The Lakers sucked this year because LeBron missed a third of the season, Ingram went down, and Lonzo Ball who atleast establishes himself as an excellent defender went down...and Magic acquired a team that couldn’t shoot which happened to be unsuited even for self governed LeBron(Or Luke Walton for that matter)...oh, and Magic and LeBron tried to trade away the whole team but we’ll be fair

 

[The_Jamal]

You know what I find funny? All the Kings fans who laughed at the Lakers throughout the season and said Luke had no clue what he was doing. As soon as he's hired to the Kings? "oh, Luke wasn't the problem, it was LeBron......the 15x all-star."

Lets not confuse laughing at the Lakers misery and hating on Luke Walton. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

 

[mac]

One thing I'm honestly looking forward to is that for the first time in forever, the new coach coming in has an immediate expectation to win. No 4 year plan, no BS spend one season playing slow then changing styles completely the next season. No "this is only 10% of the playbook" nonsense. Oh and hopefully no clashes with players from day one. We have our core in place and natural expectations are to make the playoffs. I don't foresee there being too significant roster changes either but that remains to be seen.

Like it or not, Luke's first year is going to dictate whether this was the right move or not, and there shouldn't be excuses about how he's still tinkering and figuring out what works and trying to get WCS to play in the high post etc. If he was so prized to Vlade then the expectation is that he comes in and at least from a stylistic point of view has the team playing how Vlade wants. Likewise with minutes distribution. To me, that's a refreshing change.

As a side note, regarding Shumpert for Burks it does seem like a mistake on Vlades part from a chemistry standpoint. However, DJ possibly shares some blame in not incorporating Burks effectively.

 

[ParniValjak]

Lets not confuse laughing at the Lakers misery and hating on Luke Walton. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

Correct!

This time last year, Lakers were the young up and coming team with a good young coach at the helm. In others words, what the Kings were this season.

LeBron fires coaches wherever he goes. Except Miami. He tried it there as well before Pat Riley stepped in and said the coach is here to stay. LBJ eventually left because he could not run the show there. Walton not being wanted is hardly a surprise. Luke is not LeBron’s guy

 

[Kangztillidie]

I'm not sure "But Lakers fans say he's a bad coach!" is a good argument against hiring Luke at all.

Lakers fans wanted D'Lo's butt out of town and now he's a freaking all-star and still think Lonzo is better than De'Aaron. If they think Luke is a bad coach then there's a good chance that he's actually a freaking great coach.

Laker fans said D'Antoni was a terrible coach also.

 

[Agent23]

Laker fans said D'Antoni was a terrible coach also.

And he’s shown that he’s not terrible at all.

 

[funkykingston]

Laker fans said D'Antoni was a terrible coach also.

And he’s shown that he’s not terrible at all.

What D'Antoni has shown is that he doesn't adapt his system to his personnel which is why he was a disaster with the Lakers but that with the right players his system is ideal for the current NBA.

It just underscores that fit is important with coaches too, some more than others. On paper the Kings match well with what Walton wants to do. We'll have to see what he result is on the court.

If nothing else this coaching change has shown yet again that Vlade (a) is going to confidently do things his way and (b) he values teamwork and unity across the organization.

 

[Cojc]

I like the idea of where Luke came from and think folks are right in thinking our owner wants to build a team like golden state.
I cannot argue that point if they can pull off anything close to the results just west of us.

He has the new NBA in him and I for one like that aspect. I just hope we can find a good backup point guard for the second team instead of Bogdan slow walking the ball up the court.

 

[jcassio]

I wonder if Vlade giving Brandon Williams the duty to sign Joeger’s assistants to their extensions was his olive branch to the coaches.

It didn’t seem like a minor oversight at the time. I think Vlade wanted to see if the fences could be mended. The coaches refusal to sign the contracts presented by Williams was the test.

Looks like the coaches and Williams failed that test miserably.

What's Bobby Jackson's status, contract-wise, and his likely status next year? Seems like he was Vlade's guy. Wonder if he still is?

 

[Chupacabra]

How does hiring the Lakers leftover coach sock it to them?

I can understand your question if it is coming from the perspective of a person that thinks that the 7akers lack of success is Walton's fault. If we are attributing the way that 7A imploded mid-season to playing style, player usage, lineups, offensive & defensive schemes etc. then it is a totally understandable question that you have asked. I don't feel that this was the case and am almost certain that their poor play had to do mostly with Lebron meddling in affairs that are above his pay grade, such as trying to trade all of his teammates away. This, in addition to a slew of poor moves made by their inept and unqualified front office, is what I attribute to their lack of success. Of course, the FO isn't going to fire itself. They're not going to trade Lebron either, or at least Jeanie Buss doesn't have the guts to do it -- she is, after all, a useless trust fund baby. So Walton was an easy target for the 7akers knee-jerk reaction style business moves.

We've stuck it to them by getting exactly what we apparently wanted via correctly anticipating their very predictable business decisions. We had a two day turn around, going from dysfunctional franchise to a group of geniuses, in terms of the media's narrative about us; the 7akers seemingly can't do anything right. I watched a clip of 7aker stan Chris Broussard saying a lot of nice things about the 7akers while wearing an angry look on his face and it felt great.

 

[jcassio]

OK so the real discussion here IMO is this: did Vlade clear an opening to entice Luke to leave, or did Vlade get some inside info and know Luke was going to be available?

What kind of code were they speaking in, and how did they communicate? I don't doubt that hiring Luke was part of Vlade's plan when he fired Dave, but I almost hope we never find out the mechanics of it. It's better left as a mystery.

 

[jcassio]

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.

Are you still convinced that Joerger (in the last game) was sitting his starters as a smart move to prevent injury?

 

[kingdivac]

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.

 

[ParniValjak]

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.

Hang on, if we are fair, statistically, Walton’s Lakers have been better defensive teams than Joerger’s Kings. Sure some of that is personnel related but some of it related to defensive schemes.

I think Joerger is a more proven coach overall. One could argue a better coach overall but it would turn into a pissing contest. One thing Joerger is very good at is Xs and Os.

 

[Agent23]

Hang on, if we are fair, statistically, Walton’s Lakers have been better defensive teams than Joerger’s Kings. Sure some of that is personnel related but some of it related to defensive schemes.

I think Joerger is a more proven coach overall. One could argue a better coach overall but it would turn into a pissing contest. One thing Joerger is very good at is Xs and Os.

There were certain stretches the last 2 years , those Walton Lakers’ squads were dominant on defense. I truly believe, if they kept the same core from last year, they would have been a playoff team this year. Its tough, because how can you say NO to one of the greatest players of all time when he wants to join your team.

 

[kingdivac]

Hang on, if we are fair, statistically, Walton’s Lakers have been better defensive teams than Joerger’s Kings. Sure some of that is personnel related but some of it related to defensive schemes.

I think Joerger is a more proven coach overall. One could argue a better coach overall but it would turn into a pissing contest. One thing Joerger is very good at is Xs and Os.

Comparing the Lakers to Kings team does not necessarily translate in terms of expected output, especially defensive output.

 

[Ozymandias]

Comparing the Lakers to Kings team does not necessarily translate in terms of expected output, especially defensive output.

LAkers were a collection of egos, that collectively face-planted... The Kings young core is unified way beyond that already, even with a coach who they didn't like. So yeah, probably not best to be drawing too many direct comparisons, is it apples v apples or apples v oranges?

 

[chief bromden]

People doubting whether the Kings will win with Walton... I think that's fair. He's never done it, and you can point to that.

On the flip side, relating to the young, high profile players is becoming more important every year. I think Walton is an asset in that regard. Additionally, Divac obviously had a plan and executed it, which is encouraging and different from past firings. All the praise he has gotten from around the league is icing on the cake. I really think that it may help with free agent recruitment if his reputation is that high among players. That's a huge plus if this team ever wants to sniff a championship. Sign me up for the ride!

 

[kingdivac]

LAkers were a collection of egos, that collectively face-planted... The Kings young core is unified way beyond that already, even with a coach who they didn't like. So yeah, probably not best to be drawing too many direct comparisons, is it apples v apples or apples v oranges?

The mentality was, ok you can score, but we'll keep blitzing. That didn't work. There was a large improvement offensively, better than most if not everyone expected but at some expense of the defense. And yet they fire the coach because, "the team did not make the playoffs". Kings players need tough coaching, not babysitting. I was dissatisfied with missing the playoffs, but if its about missing the Playoffs, Walton has no honeymoon period. They're going to need to win 10 more games next season too. - a tall order for anyone, to say anything for Luke Walton. I dont think firing the coach for missing the playoffs was a transparent explanation - it is the boilerplate answer. The Kings may need another season just to get their defense in better order., Releasing Joerger also released all of his experience , observation , and knowledge with the players. The firing seems rash. Walton will age 3 years next year.

 

[kingdivac]

People doubting whether the Kings will win with Walton... I think that's fair. He's never done it, and you can point to that.

On the flip side, relating to the young, high profile players is becoming more important every year. I think Walton is an asset in that regard. Additionally, Divac obviously had a plan and executed it, which is encouraging and different from past firings. All the praise he has gotten from around the league is icing on the cake. I really think that it may help with free agent recruitment if his reputation is that high among players. That's a huge plus if this team ever wants to sniff a championship. Sign me up for the ride!

Well with a 4-year extension and coach firings, the ownership has thrown in its chips. You better step in line with Vlade, or your can will be on the street. What does Vlade,think the team needs?

 

[sactowndog]

Well, it helps when you replace a great coach with a great coach. Been a big fan of Walton for a long time and I'm fairly certain if we went back to the previous "who to hire" thread we had before Joerger, he was one of my top guys we should look at .

Most of his decisions are good though? How?

The Bad:

-Trading Shump for a 2020 late 2nd rounder and Alec Burks who did nothing? Noticeable affect on team chemistry and player psyche.
-Drafting Malachi, PapaGiannis and Justin Jackson only to dump or trade them 1 year and a half into their career? Wasted 3 1st round picks
-Drafting Frank Mason over Jordan Bell?
-Trading an unprotected 1st, 2 pick swaps, a former lottery pick and a couple contracts for cap space when he could have just stretched JT and Landry and done the same thing? Only to sign Rondo for a season, Beli and Kosta Koufos to lead us to a 30 win year.
-Being hurt by said pick swap, losing 2 spots in draft capital from #3 pick to #5.
-Firing a coach who just improved your team by 12 wins a day after the season? Yeah I really like Walton, but any sane person would question the validity of getting rid of a coach with that on your resume.
-Letting Seth Curry walk to sign Matt Barnes to $2/12 only to let him walk after 50 games?
-Signing Zach Lavine to a 4/78 offer sheet when we had 2 duplicate guards already with his skill-set? Thankfully saved by the Bulls from ourselves.
-Waiting way too long to trade Boogie and then actually telling people he had a better trade earlier in the week, but didn't jump on it. Buddy and Giles are going to work out okay, but we got absolutely rocked in value in that trade, getting pennies on the dollar for a top 15 player. The haul would have been enormous had we traded him a year earlier.

The Good:

Acquiring Bogdan for Chriss. Although he absolutely failed the Papagiannis pick in the deal, great talent evaluation to have him included in the trade. Although some comments on the board were ready to send him out for a bag of peanuts at one point or another this season, so do they think he's still worth the #8 pick?
-Giles talent evaluation. Another great talent grab here and using a mid-1st round pick to take a calculated gamble on a high upside guy with a ton of talent if he could stay healthy. Just a home-run pick and possibly might define his tenure as a GM if he can breakout and showcase more of that all-star potential we saw.
-De'Aaron Fox. Obvious, but still deserves credit for not overthinking things and making the quality obvious pick. Pick swap could have been disastrous if the Suns were an actual real NBA franchise and took Fox as they should have done in the first place.
-Nemanja Bjelica- Great contract, not tied up long-term, was a huge reason we saw improved play overall. Quality signing


The "Meh, possibly good"
-Harrison Barnes trade. It's good evaluation of our yearly standing in free agency and acquiring a need. I like Barnes and thought he played well for us, but I don't love the idea of being tied to him with a contract like 4/80 to a guy who's probably like a top 80-90 player in the league (if that). Depending on his extension, could end up being a good deal for just Justin Jackson.
-Marvin Bagley. Love the talent, love the growth we saw from Summer league to him being a legit 15/8 by the end of the year. But his status is always going to be tied to Luka Doncic and what he ends up being as a player. If Luka ends up having a HoF career, Bagley can't just be "pretty good" for this pick to be worth it. He's got to hit on being the franchise cornerstone, which thankfully he looks like he's on that path.
-WCS pick. Lower end starter for a 6 overall pick. Could do worse. Not a bust obviously, but not a home-run either. Firmly in the "meh" category

So, all this to say "Started off extremely rough as one of the worst GMs in NBA history, gotten more competent in the past year." What makes you think that "most of his decisions have turned out to be right?"

I have been critical of Vlade in the past but not sure your PappaG, Malachi, JJ comment was fair. Drafts have to be evaluated in terms of who was available at the time. And he didn’t dump JJ as Dallas wanted him for Barnes.

Also the Burke’s trade was an example of coach and GM not on the same page and why Joeger had to go.

 

[ApolloDaGod]

So happy to have a proven head coach here, he did so well with the Lakers youth. (Sarcasm)

 

[ApolloDaGod]

It's because vivek wants to be the warriors so bad and Luke has been on the inside of the warriors coaching room so he MUST know how to win. SIGN HIM.

 

[SLAB]

So happy to have a proven head coach here, he did so well with the Lakers youth. (Sarcasm)

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.

 

[Livinthedream]

As a side note, regarding Shumpert for Burks it does seem like a mistake on Vlades part from a chemistry standpoint. However, DJ possibly shares some blame in not incorporating Burks effectively.

This is not directed at you Mac, but the Shumpert trade talk was always perplexing to me. Yes, Shump was loved and brought a certain attitude. But if one role player leaving changed the whole culture of the players, then what influence if any did DJ have on how the players approached the game? Veterans take young players under the wings and show them the ropes. But the coach sets the tone. I wonder if the reason DJ really preferred veteran players is because they were able to cover for his own weaknesses in communicating with the team and being that influential leader.

 

[Ozymandias]

The mentality was, ok you can score, but we'll keep blitzing. That didn't work. There was a large improvement offensively, better than most if not everyone expected but at some expense of the defense. And yet they fire the coach because, "the team did not make the playoffs". Kings players need tough coaching, not babysitting. I was dissatisfied with missing the playoffs, but if its about missing the Playoffs, Walton has no honeymoon period. They're going to need to win 10 more games next season too. - a tall order for anyone, to say anything for Luke Walton. I dont think firing the coach for missing the playoffs was a transparent explanation - it is the boilerplate answer. The Kings may need another season just to get their defense in better order., Releasing Joerger also released all of his experience , observation , and knowledge with the players. The firing seems rash. Walton will age 3 years next year.

The LAkers also never got the young parts to even play much together though when you really look at this season, They never had much time to gel because they never had much time on the floor.

Some of those players they have like Kuzma, he is that type of player who's gonna keep blitzing on anyteam hes on, thats his role in the NBA. Ingram is also sort of the same way he is very talented off the dribble for a player of those dimensions. Bron is obviously a savant with the ball in his hands. and Lonzo is capable of making extremely difficult passes. These 4 only got like 30 games together and they won like 75% of them..

It's really kinda tough to grade Luke's season on the strength of that, i'd lean towards giving him an Incomplete rather than a,b,c,d. I didn't watch them close enough. Lakers fans have always been wrapped around the finger of the media, not worried bout the slights u hear from their fans.

Biggest complaint was his rotations, well good thing we know he believes in our core rotation already --- obviously with what took place with Joerger that was a high priority for Vlade.

They certainly ran D'Lo outa town too early... Perhaps they've done it again with Luke?