Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton could have multiple teams offer him a head coaching job this offseason. That doesn’t mean he will accept any of them.
Prior to Golden State’s win over the Houston Rockets on Monday, Walton told Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News he is focused on the playoffs and has no intention of rushing into anything else.
“I know the way this works — you can’t just tell everybody I’m not going to interview anywhere until the end of the playoffs, because most coaches have hired by then,” Walton said. “I also do want to be a head coach some day, whether that’s next year or the year after that. I’m going to pursue those opportunities.
“But knowing while I’m doing that, that I love my job here. So I’m not going to rush off into anything else.”
Walton was specifically asked about a recent sit-down he had with Phil Jackson, and he insisted that was not an interview for the Knicks’ head coaching job.
“No. I talked to Phil, but I always talk to Phil,” he said. “He’s a mentor of mine. There was no job interview whatsoever. It was just a conversation which is not that rare for Phil and I to have.”
For what it’s worth, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Walton could not have been interviewing for the Knicks job because teams have not been given permission to interview him. Does that mean Jackson and Walton didn’t discuss anything related to New York’s coaching vacancy? Of course not, and one report claims they have chatted about exactly that.
Perhaps Jackson and Walton did discuss the job, but it sounds like Phil came away convinced Walton is not leaving Golden State. Remember, Walton is just 36. He can only improve his stock by remaining with a team that is dominating the NBA and has the potential to win multiple championships. Waiting it out can only help him in the long run.
