NBA Rumors: Luke Walton not interested in Knicks coaching job
The Knicks have reached out to Luke Walton about being their head coach but he reportedly isn’t interested at this time.
Golden State Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton had to start off the season as their head coach with head coach Steve Kerr recovering from offseason surgery. He did such a great job with the Warriors as their temporary head coach that multiple teams have reportedly reached out to him and he will likely get a ton of head coaching offers over the summer.
The New York Knicks are one of the teams that reached out to Walton, but Walton is reportedly not interested in being their head coach.
Luke Walton, according to NBA source, told P Jackson that as of right now he's not interested in NYK job. Unclear if/when they'll talk again
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) April 18, 2016
It’s not surprising that the Knicks are interested in Walton. Phil Jackson and Walton share a connection since Jackson was Walton’s head coach with the Los Angeles Lakers. Jackson thought quite highly of Walton. When Walton was a bench player for the Lakers, Jackson saw a potential future coach in him and invited Walton to join the coaches in their meetings.
Walton and Jackson are comfortable with each other and if Jackson wants to keep the triangle offense, few people are more comfortable with teaching it than Walton, who ran it as a point guard (albeit as a backup).
The two sides will most likely talk again. Walton is focusing on helping Kerr coach the Warriors to their second straight NBA title. Showing any interest in the Knicks coaching job could cause a distraction. He’s doing the right thing by tossing aside any future coaching jobs to help the Warriors win. That makes him an even more attractive head coach candidate.
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