UPDATE 7/1/14 (4:26 PM PT): Luke Walton is finalizing an agreement with the Golden State Warriors to join the coaching staff as an assistant coach according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski:
Luke Walton is finalizing an agreement with Golden State to become an assistant coach, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 1, 2014
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
As many NBA teams that hired new head coaches this off-season begin to start thinking about free agency, which is set to begin on July 1, some organizations are still looking to finalize their coaching staff.
Recently hired Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has started his assistant coach search with a bit of a surprise candidate. According to Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, Kerr has reached out to former Los Angeles Lakers’ forward Luke Walton about possibly joining Golden State’s coaching staff.
— Lakers Nation Summer Sale Is Here! Get 32% Off Orders More Than $20! Use Code: #TheFuture —
Golden State’s Steve Kerr is discussing an assistant coaching job on his staff with Luke Walton, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 30, 2014
Walton was for a short time considered as a possible head coaching option for Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks before Jackson ultimately hired Derek Fisher. Once Fisher was hired, talks of Walton joining his staff were surfacing, but have died down over the past few weeks.
Walton has worked for the Lakers’ D-League affiliate team, the Los Angeles D-Fenders as the player development coach and also as a Time Warner Cable Sports analyst.
Walton has high regards throughout the league as a bright basketball mind and will most likely be joining a coaching staff sooner rather than later in his young career.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Lakers Mitch Kupchak On Coach Search And Free Agency