The Golden State Warriors are coming off an all-time great season, winning 67 regular season games and then going on to win the NBA Championship. Steve Kerr also had himself a heck of a year in his first year as head coach for those same reasons. Kerr came in second in NBA Coach of the Year voting, and while he did a great job, he gave a lot of credit to his associate head coach Alvin Gentry for the team's success last season. Gentry has since moved on to become the head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans, so Kerr needs to name a new associate head coach, and Luke Walton is reportedly the front runner as of right now, according to SF Gate.
Aside from being the associate head coach, Gentry was also the chief offensive adviser. The Warriors are reportedly ready to announce a decision as far his replacement soon.
"More than likely, we will promote from within, without going into too much detail. ... That's the direction we're leaning, but we have to firm everything up, which should be soon," Kerr said.
Walton played in the NBA from 2003 until 2013 and won two Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was never great as a player (career averages of 4.7 points 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game), but he was always a high IQ player that was good to have on the floor. Walton doesn't have much coaching experience under his belt, but the Warriors must have liked what they saw from him in his one year with the staff to consider promoting the 35-year-old.
Before last year with the Warriors, Walton's only coaching experience had come from when he was an assistant coach at the University of Memphis for the duration of the NBA lockout in 2011, as well as when he was a player development coach for the Los Angeles D-Fenders (D-League) in 2013-14.
Walton isn't a lock to get the promotion, but the fact that he is even being considered is a testament to how good of a coach he must be. Walton had virtually no coaching experience before joining Golden State's staff last year and now, one year later, he is reportedly the front runner to become their next associate head coach.
