Kings waste little time in naming Walton coach

SACRAMENTO, California — About five minutes after hearing Luke Walton had been dismissed as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings general manager Vlade Divac called Walton’s agent.

Finalizing the deal that brought Walton to Sacramento as the Kings new coach didn’t take much longer. After getting the call Friday, Walton changed plans to take some time off and flew to Sacramento the following day instead. He agreed to a deal that afternoon and was formally introduced as coach of the Kings on Monday.

“I knew these types of offers don’t come available very often,” Walton said. “I love coaching, so having that opportunity with this type of talented team and doing it alongside somebody the way I feel about Vlade made it too good to pass up on.”

Divac called Walton one of his basketball “soul mates,” who embraces the same philosophies in style of play and building culture on a team. The relationship between the two goes back more than a decade to when they were teammates on the Lakers in 2004-05.

Divac had wanted to interview Walton for the opening three years ago before hiring Dave Joerger but never got that chance as Walton took the job with the Lakers instead. He wasn’t going to miss his chance again.

“When I believe in something, I just do it that way,” Divac said. “No need to waste time. I knew exactly what I was looking for. When he was available, I just gave him a call.”

Walton takes over a Kings team that’s in a much better position than it was three years ago thanks to progress made under Joerger and key acquisitions made by Divac. Joerger was fired Thursday following a 39-43 campaign that was the best record for the franchise in 13 years.

Divac made that move because he felt Joerger wasn’t the right coach to take the Kings to the next level and the post-season and hopes that Walton can do that.

He inherits an up-and-coming team in Sacramento that features several talented young players acquired by Divac: guards De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield, forward Marvin Bagley III and centre Willie Cauley-Stein. The Kings finished nine games out of a playoff spot after being tied for the Western Conference’s eighth seed heading into the final game before the all-star break.