Sacramento Kings looking like they made wrong decision with Luke Walton

The Sacramento Kings have gotten off to an atrocious 0-5 start on the season prompting many to question their decision to hire Luke Walton in the offseason.

The Sacramento Kings have started the season 0-5 for the first time in nearly 30 years since 1990. And for a Kings team that’s resided in the NBA’s basement for far too long, it’s pretty impressive to make that kind of history.

The Kings are bad right now — very bad.

And given the cautious optimism that many fans had going into the season, this recent stretch of horror is even more difficult to watch.

Sacramento surprised many last season finishing with 39 wins to mark their best record since the 2005-06 campaign. And after an offseason with a number of low-profile, but solid additions, expectations were understandably high.

And even if some expected regression, this level of struggle could not have been foreseen.

The one major change that was made in the offseason was the decision to relieve head coach Dave Joerger of his job after three seasons with the team. Former Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton was brought in to be his replacement in a controversial move.

Not only were there questions surrounding the decision to fire Joerger in the first place, but his replacement was fresh off a disappointing tenure down in Los Angeles in which he failed to lead the Lakers to the postseason in any of his three seasons.

While Joerger had done the same thing in Sacramento, he was obviously handed a worse situation and even managed to lead the Kings to 39 wins in his final season.

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Under Joerger, the Kings had forged a team identity. They played hard and with a purpose and that was evident each time the team stepped foot on the court.

They made their fair share of mistakes, sure. After all, the Kings were an incredibly young team still finding their footing in the league. But their effort and work ethic were never called into question.

And most importantly, the players seemingly liked playing for him — they bought into his system.

The same can’t be said for Walton — at least not yet.

So far in the Luke Walton era in Sacramento, we have seen a sexual assault scandal dominate a portion of the offseason, a contract dispute with star shooting guard Buddy Hield, and a 0-5 start including a blown loss at home against the lowly Charlotte Hornets.

Not an ideal beginning for a new head coach.

Is it all his fault? Absolutely not. Some blame must fall on general manager Vlade Divac for putting together a roster that simply isn’t clicking right now.

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Dewayne Dedmon is on his way to being a free-agent bust and the remaining offseason additions have been lackluster, save for high-energy big man Richaun Holmes.

In fact, if every Kings player played like Holmes we wouldn’t even be having this discussion.

This team looks unmotivated and disinterested at times. They struggle to hold leads and opt for selfish, iso-oriented basketball when things start going south. Instead of playing their usual team-focused style of play, they get antsy and impatient.

That’s on the coaching staff just as much as it is the players.

It’s too early to make any declarative statements about Walton’s tenure in Sacramento, but it’s clear that unlike Joerger, the Kings’ players just haven’t bought into his system.

Sacramento Kings already looking like they made wrong decision with Luke Walton

By Justin Fried | Oct 31, 2019

The Sacramento Kings have gotten off to an atrocious 0-5 start on the season prompting many to question their decision to hire Luke Walton in the offseason.

More from Golden Gate Sports