The Cavaliers are hiring former Kings and Lakers coach Luke Walton as an assistant to coach J.B. Bickerstaff, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Walton, 42, was fired by the Kings early in late November. He has compiled a 166-241 record in five-and-half seasons overall as coach of the Lakers and Kings.
The Kings were 31-41 in each of his first two years, and 6-11 when he was fired this past year. While he experienced success filling in for Warriors coach Steve Kerr as an assistant, Walton’s teams have never finished with a winning record, his best season coming when the 2018-19 Lakers finished 37-45.
He released a statement after being fired by the Kings in November.
“I want to thank the Kings organization for the opportunity and I want to thank the players and the coaching staff for their support and hard work,” he said. “I genuinely care for each of them and wish them nothing but success.”
Walton is the son of NBA legend Bill Walton and also spent time with both the Cavaliers and Lakers as a small forward.
The Cavs finished with the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference but lost both games in the play-in tournament and failed to make the playoffs. Still, they are viewed as a rising contender in the Eastern Conference when fully healthy.
As Wojnarowski wrote: “The Cavaliers’ young core — including All-Star guard Darius Garland, All-Rookie forward/center Evan Mobley and the burgeoning 7-footer Jarrett Allen — are expected to make Cleveland contenders to move into the conference’s elite next season.”
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