Former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton has emerged as a candidate for the New York Knicks job, according to the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy.
According to Bondy, Walton, serving as a lead assistant for the Detroit Pistons, has emerged as “a random name” being floated in Knicks circles as the successor of Tom Thibodeau, who was fired shortly after the team was eliminated from the 2025 playoffs.
“Jason Kidd, another potential candidate, is also under contract with the Mavericks, but the possibility of him shaking loose is less clear at this point,” wrote Bondy. “Two random names I heard recently for the Knicks job are Mike Brown (currently unemployed) and Luke Walton (lead assistant in Detroit).”
Bondy’s report added that the Knicks front office is determined to conduct an “exhaustive search” to find Thibs’ replacement.
Luke Walton Was Not Popular In LA
It’s rather surprising to hear Walton’s name emerge as a candidate for the high-profile Knicks job. Walton, the son of the late great Bill Walton, endured three tumultuous seasons with the Lakers, during which he won only 39.8% of his games, going 166-241 across 407 regular-season games.
The 45-year-old was fired in the lead-up to the 2019-20 NBA season, which immediately yielded positive results for the Lakers as they captured the 2020 NBA championship. According to multiple insiders, Walton was not popular among the Lakers’ locker room, specifically with former president of basketball operations Magic Johnson, which led to his dismissal before the 2019-20 season.
There were also murmurs that LeBron James, who spent a full season with Walton in 2018-19, was unhappy with the coach’s schemes, especially on the defensive end.
However, James publicly denied the reports.
“Throughout it all we just tried to remain positive, even throughout with the young guys, with the older guys and whatever the case may be. So I think he did as great of a job as you could do under the circumstances,” James said of Walton.
Walton Flopped In Sacramento Too
Walton would ultimately be replaced by Frank Vogel, who went 52-19 in his first season as head coach, helping the Lakers hang their 17th championship banner.
Despite his three unsuccessful seasons with the Lakers, Walton landed a new gig with the Sacramento Kings ahead of the 2019-20 season, which also didn’t end well.
In two full seasons under Walton, the Kings went 62-82 (.431), and things went from bad to worse in 2021-22 when their record was 6-11 until he was fired.
Overall, Walton had a head-coaching record of 166-241 in five-and-a-quarter seasons with the Lakers and Kings. He has since been a part of three coaching units under J.B. Bickerstaff, the first two with the Cavaliers and a stint with the Pistons in 2024-25.
Besides Walton, the Knicks have been linked to current Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd and Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, per NBA insider Marc Stein.
“One source with knowledge of the Rockets’ thinking told The Stein Line categorically that permission to speak with Udoka would be rejected if the Knicks requested it,” Stein wrote.
“Kidd has two seasons left on a contract extension he received during last season’s playoffs with the Mavericks in the midst of a run to the NBA Finals and with the Los Angeles Lakers expected to show interest in hiring him to replace Darvin Ham,” Stein wrote.
