The Kings Fire Luke Walton After Losing To The Jazz

The Sacramento Kings have fired their head coach, Luke Walton, and are replacing him with Alvin Gentry, who will serve as interim head coach. The firing came after the Kings’ 123-105 loss to the Utah Jazz, Saturday.

The team has lost seven of their last eight games, sitting at 6-11 on the season. They rank 12th in the Western Conference.

Luke Walton, Fired
Gregory Shamus / Getty Images

“We all know all of us have to be better, especially over the last two weeks,” general manager Monte McNair said. “We’re not meeting expectations. That’s not just on Luke. That’s on me, the rest of our coaches and players. Everyone acknowledges that.”

McNair says that his squad has the roster to be a much better team, and believes that Gentry will take them to that level.

“I think we have the talent,” McNair continued. “We’ve shown that we can do that. We’re going to get back to that and Alvin will be the guy to lead us there.”

Gentry has now coached six NBA teams in his career including the Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans, and Sacramento Kings.

The Kings’ next game comes against the Philidelphia 76ers on Monday.

[Via]