Luke Walton will have a plethora of teams calling his number this off-season in hopes that he will be their next head coach. The Knicks have reportedly expressed interest in Walton, and so have the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers have allegedly said that they will fire Byron Scott to hire Walton mid-season. Walton will also likely receive offers from the Nets, Kings (who will reportedly fire George Karl sometime this week), and Houston.
Walton is going to be able to go to any of these teams, but for now, he is focused on winning a championship in Golden State. Marc Stein of ESPN reports that he will finish the season with the Warriors.
ESPN sources say Luke Walton is determined to see out this season in Golden State and not entertain head coaching offers until the offseason
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 8, 2016
Walton started the season as the Warriors interim head coach while Steve Kerr recovered from a back injury, and he did a phenomenal job. He led the team to a 39-4 record and won multiple Coach of the Month awards, and it should be no surprise that he will finish the season with them. It is also smart for him to do this because it shows that he is loyal to a team and its players when he could leave.
Walton will very likely do the same thing that current New Orleans head coach Alvin Gentry did last season, and take a job with another team during the playoffs but finish off the playoff run.
One thing that is a problem for teams looking to hire Walton- is he a bit over-hyped? He was coaching the returning NBA Champions, and coaching an already well established team is much different then coaching a rebuilding team. Kobe Bryant said that he knew Walton would be a great coach someday, and now is time for him to show us that.
