Kings general manager Monte McNair described the decision to fire former coach Luke Walton like most organizations describe them — hopes and expectations simply were not being met.
“The start of the year was a lot of what we were hoping for, and we really thought it could have been even better,” McNair said, via Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “I think we saw a lot of the things that we thought this team could do, but these last eight games were a change, and, for me, the question became what’s the best way to move forward, and that’s my job at every point in the season.”
Walton, 41, was fired over the weekend after just more than two seasons on the job. His former lead assistant, Alvin Gentry, will serve as interim coach.
“It wasn’t any one thing,” McNair said. “It was a combination of things, but sitting here with where we’ve been the last two weeks, we felt we weren’t getting the consistency and certainly the results we wanted. We all need to be better. This is not on any one person, but we did feel this was the change that was best to get us back to where we need to go.”
Kings last made playoffs in 2006. Likely not going again this season. Crowds have been dwindling. Fans fed up. This isn’t a failure of just coaching.
— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) November 21, 2021
The Kings (6-11) have lost seven of eight.
Walton compiled a 68-93 record in his time with the Kings. Before coming to Sacramento, the former NBA forward coached the Lakers for three seasons, finishing 98-148.
Gentry, 67, coached the Pelicans from 2015-20, compiling a 175-225 record. He has also been head coach of the Suns, Clippers, Pistons and Heat, and owns a 510-595 record in 16 seasons overall.
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