Cavs hire Luke Walton as assistant coach

A familiar face from California will be returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers as an assistant coach. No, not who you are thinking of, it is Luke Walton. Walton will serve as an assistant under J.B. Bickerstaff.

Luke Walton has served as an assistant previously, famously standing in for Steve Kerr in Golden States 73-9 2016 season. Walton was at the helm for more games (43) than Kerr (39) during their record breaking season. The success as interim coach lead to Walton being hired by the Los Angeles Lakers. Los Angeles did not reach their lofty expectations and considering they just landed LeBron James in free agency this was unacceptable. The two sides parted ways after the 2019 season with Walton finishing with just 98 wins and 148 losses. Walton was not out of work for long as he was hired to be the next coach of the Sacramento Kings. It would be a shorter stint in Sacramento as Walton was fired 17 games into his third season.

Interesting tidbit here, Bickerstaff nearly joined Walton in Sacramento instead opting to join the coaching staff of John Beilein in Cleveland. The decision to come to Cleveland instead is quite the sliding doors moment for Bickerstaff. Beilein’s sudden midseason departure gave Bickerstaff a chance he may not have seen otherwise. Joining the Cavs instead of Walton’s Kings seems to have worked out for all involved as they are now both employed in Cleveland.