Category: NBA

Sexual assault allegations of Luke Walton puts Kings in damage control

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Photo credit: tmz.com

By: Ana Kieu

TMZ Sports first reported female sports reporter Kelli Tennant’s lawsuit against current Sacramento Kings head coach Luke Walton on Monday night. Sure, it may seem like just another headline among the tabloids, but sexual assault isn’t a joke, it’s a serious issue that has to be addressed in the general public. Some accusations may not be true, but about this accusation, we’ll have to wait and see if it turns out to be true.

Walton was hired by the Kings on April 14th. That, my friends, was only eight days ago. Before joining the Kings, Walton served as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach from 2016-19, Golden State Warriors assistant coach from 2014-16, Los Angeles D-Fenders player development coach from 2013-14 and Memphis Tigers assistant coach in 2011. Walton played in the NBA from 2003-13 after being a second-round draft pick at the 2003 NBA Draft. Walton played NCAA basketball at Arizona from 1999-2003.

Kelli Tennant is a host for the Ceremony Wellness podcast and a sports reporter who has worked for ESPN, PAC12, E! News, Fox Sports, Spectrum Sportsnet, and SportsNet LA. Tennant is a Temecula, Calif. native whose alma mater is the University of Southern California. Tennant played NCAA volleyball at USC for two seasons.

According to TMZ, Kelli Tennant claimed that before Walton became the Lakers head coach, he asked her to meet him at his Santa Monica hotel to discuss a book she was writing. She says they had a business relationship for several years and she wanted him to write a foreword.

In the suit, Tennant said when she arrived at Walton’s hotel, he convinced her to come up to his room so they could discuss the book. She claims when they got up to his room, Walton suddenly pinned her to the bed, placing his hips and legs over her body.

In the docs, Tennant claimed Walton began forcing kisses on her neck, face and chest. She claimed she screamed for him to stop and tried to free herself, but he held her down, groped her breasts and groin, and rubbed his erection on her leg.

Tennant says he eventually relented and let her get up from the bed, but as she was walking towards the door to leave, he grabbed her from behind and forced his body up against hers.

Tennant claimed when Walton finally released his grasp, she opened the door and left, but could hear him say, “Good to see you.”

Tennant claimed she did not initially report Walton’s conduct, but was forced to continually interact with him because of her job. She saied each time she saw him, he’d impose himself on her with a big hug or a kiss, even though she thought she made it clear his advances were unwanted.

In the suit, Tennant claimed on one occasion, Walton greeted her by uttering, “vulgar, guttural sounds at her” and said, “Mmmm…you’re killing me in that dress.” She says he then forced an aggressive hug on her and rubbed his body against hers.

While it’s unclear what exactly promoted Tennant to come forward, I can reassure you that the Kings are in damage control mode right now. Walton hasn’t released a statement, and it’s unclear if he’ll comment on anything. The Kings haven’t commented on the matter either. Sam Amick of The Athletic tweeted, “The Kings have issued a statement regarding sexual assault allegations against their new coach, Luke Walton, as reported by TMZ. We are aware of the report and are gathering additional information. We have no further comment at this time.”

Warriors defeat Clippers 113-105 for back-to-back road wins

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors had hoped to take a 3-1 series lead over the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center Sunday. The Warriors didn’t want to repeat their blowing of a 31-point lead in Game 2 at Oracle Arena last Monday.

The Warriors were ready for the game. Golden State’s starting five featured Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andrew Bogut.

Klay Thompson got the party started with a pump fake at the 10:55 mark of the first quarter. Thompson made seven straight buckets, too. Kevin Durant continued making his buckets, which gave him the nickname “Buckets” — but most, if not all, of us would mind if he went by that nickname. Durant and Draymond Green played a major role in the Warrior defense. The Warriors led 33-22 at the end of the first.

Steph Curry rang in the second quarter with a three-pointer off a pass from Kevon Looney. Kevin Durant and Danilo Gallinari had a conversation, and although it was unclear what the two were discussing, Gallinari made a pair of free throws, so I doubt it had anything to do with the Warriors. However, Durant did pass Hakeem Olajuwon for 13th place on the NBA’s all-time playoff scoring list with 3,756 points.

The shot clock expired with 1:05 left in the second, and the Clippers reduced their deficit by six, trailing 58-52 with one minute left. Los Angeles added two points to make it 58-54, but Golden State added four points for a 62-54 lead to close out the first half.

The Clippers not only reduced their deficit in the third quarter, they also got past the Warriors 82-77 for their largest lead of the game with 3:57 left in the third. But the Warriors tied the game 82-82 at the two-minute warning. Steph Curry hit a three to make it 85-82 with less than two minutes remaining. LA made it a one-point game, but that was short-lived as Golden State added two points for a 87-84 lead at the end of the third.

After a short break, Golden State returned to the court ready to take over. Andrew Bogut made a pass to Andre Iguodala, who threw the shot down the rim for a 94-88 lead with 9:012 left in the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson proved to be money, and as expected, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant teamed up to create assists and points, respectively. The Warriors (3-1) won the game 113-105 for back-to-back road wins over the Clippers (1-3).

Check out the Warriors’ final stats below:

The series shifts to Oracle Arena for Game 5 Wednesday. Game time to be announced later on.

Kevin Durant was trustworthy in Warriors’ Game 3 win over the Clippers

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Photo credit: @usatodaypost2

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

Can the notion that Kevin Durant can’t be trusted as a Golden State Warrior be buried six feet under?

Ever since the Warriors surrendered a historic 31-point lead on Monday night to the Clippers which allowed Los Angeles to steal Game 2 with a 135-131 victory that tied the first-round series 1-1, all the talk was the amount of shots that Durant took (8), the amount of turnovers he committed (9), and that Clippers defensive point guard Patrick Beverley was in his head.

Well, Durant exploded and was indeed trustworthy in Game 3, scoring a game-high 38 points on 14-of-23 shooting to lead the Golden State Warriors to a commanding 132-105 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Durant finished with seven assists, four rebounds and five turnovers.

Game 4 is Sunday at Staples Center.

Golden State came out firing in the first quarter, jumping all over Los Angeles with a 22-9 run while shooting a blistering 73-percent from the floor. The Warriors took the crowd out of the game early and just dominated the Clippers wire-to-wire.

Durant was a major reason for such an emphatic response by Golden State in Game 3, drilling his first five shots and both his free throws for 12 points in the first quarter. Along with Stephen Curry’s 13 points, Golden State built a 19-point lead before the Clippers blinked. Both Durant and Curry picked up two fouls early.

Curry finished with 21 points, but was whistled for five fouls total.

By halftime with the Warriors holding a commanding 73-52 lead, Durant had 27 points on 10-of-15 field goals, tying a postseason career-high.

Golden State put the game out of reach once Curry drew his fourth foul in the third quarter. The Warriors scored 14 straight points to lead 88-57.

The lead grew up to as much as 35 points for the Warriors, thanks to Alfonzo McKinnie’s 3-pointer late in the quarter.

The real story was Durant, who had to hear that the aforementioned Beverley was in his head for the past three days. Durant torched the Clippers and Beverley for 30 minutes on Thursday night that he didn’t even play in the fourth quarter.

It’s safe to say that had Durant played in the fourth quarter, he would’ve dropped 40 points easily.

Heck, 50 points wouldn’t been out of the question.

Warriors take 2-1 series lead with 132-105 rout of Clippers in Game 3

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors headed down to the Southland for Game 3 against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center Thursday night. The Warriors had one agenda: Win the game for a 2-1 series lead.

The Warriors sure knew how to celebrate National High Five Day, and guess what else happened? Some French fans flew out to LA to support the Warriors, which was a pleasant sight to see. The French love their pro basketball.

The Warriors’ starting five featured Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut. The Warriors were locked in during practice, the game went underway in LA and the dominance continued.

The game’s first bucket went to Kevin Durant. Durant scored the clutch basket at 11:16 of the first quarter. With the point, Durant (3,706) passed Magic Johnson (3,701) for 14th place on the NBA’s all-time postseason scoring list. The Warriors then old a classic tale as Draymond Green blocked and Stephen Curry tripled for a 9-3 lead with 9:26 left in the first.

However, all eyes were on Kevin Durant, who scored 10 points –5 of 5 from the field–with 6:03 left in the first. Durant made a 2-point bucket to justify his fiery performance. The Warriors made nine straight field goals along with a 3-pointer by Stephen Curry to close out the first with a 41-24 lead.

The second quarter wasn’t as high-scoring, but it was exciting nonetheless. Klay Thompson joined in on the Warriors’ Splash Party with a 3. Thompson added a bucket. Thompson threw down a dunk, too.

The Warriors continued to maintain their double-digit lead, thanks to Kevin Durant. Durant expanded the Warriors’ halftime lead to 73-52 at the break. Durant helped turn the Warriors’ defense into offense with his sweet plays such as knocking down jumpers to pull his defenders out of the paint and making buckets to add to his point total.

You could say the game was in favor of the Warriors. Why’s that? The Warriors went on a 14-0 run to open the third quarter. Andre Iguodala put the exclamation mark to the run.

Kevin Durant’s crossovers in slow-motion were amazing sights to see. Durant was definitely a top-5 player with his scoring plays from the get-go tonight.

But let’s not forget about Andre Iguodala. Iguodala threw down a couple of dunks and almost broke the rim at some of those moments. Moreover, the score wasn’t even close as the Warriors led 109-76 at the end of the third.

The almost rim-breaking type of moments transpired into the fourth quarter. The Warriors were so good at those moments that you could sing to yourself, “Meet me at the rim” instead of “Meet me in the middle” (Yes, I had to throw in a song reference from “The Middle” by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey).

The Clippers have a young core of players and they prevented the 2018 NBA Champions from winning by 30-plus points tonight. Still, the Warriors defeated the Clippers 132-105. The Warriors achieved their agenda to improve to 2-1, while the Clippers fall to 1-2.

Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 38 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Steph Curry had 21 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist. Andre Iguodala had 15 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds. Klay Thompson had 12 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Kevon Looney had 10 points and 1 rebound. Draymond Green had 8 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds. Andrew Bogut had 8 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists. Alfonzo McKinnie had 6 points and 8 rebounds. Quinn Cook had 5 points, 2 assists and 1 rebound. Jacob Evans had 5 points. Shaun Livingston had 2 points, 2 assists and 4 rebounds. Jordan Bell had 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. Jonas Jerebko added 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

The Warriors and Clippers meet again for Game 4 at Staples Center Sunday at 12:30 pm PT on ABC.

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Will Clippers come up with any more surprises in Game 3?; Giants get 4 runs in 9th, but still lose; plus more

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Photo credit: @ESPNStatsInfo

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 The Golden State Warriors tip off in Los Angeles Thursday night at Staples Center against the Clippers in a series that’s tied 1-1. The Warriors are coming off a loss in which the Clippers made a 31-point comeback. The Warriors are without an injured DeMarcus Cousins. Will the Warriors regroup, jell and win this one like going through butter or will the Clippers take advantage of the home floor and try to repeat a win like they did in Game 2?

#2 In Game 3 tonight, is there a possibility that the Clippers will take full advantage of the home floor and maybe have some inspiration from the Game 2 comeback? Also, it doesn’t seem like the Clippers’ Patrick Beverley is getting in the Warriors’ Kevin Durant’s head?

#3 The Giants lost a tough one on Wednesday night to the Washington Nationals 9-6 at Nationals Park on Wednesday night. The Giants got home run help from Steven Duggar and Geraldo Parra and tried to rally in ninth inning for four runs, but wound up short losing by three runs.

#4 For the first time in five games, the Oakland A’s finally got a win over the mighty Houston Astros. It was pitching that stopped the Astros’ lineup as A’s starter Frankie Montas went six and third, three hits on one earned run, and six strikeouts in the 2-1 win.

#5 The Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving scored 37 points to lead the Boston Celtics past the Indiana Pacers 99-91. Irving could end up as a free agent after the NBA Championship. Could Irving end up in Los Angeles and join former teammate LeBron James?

Tony does Headline Sports each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: The KD-Beverley battle heads to LA for game 3

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Photo credit: @losangelesinfor

On the Warriors podcast with David:

#1 Will the Los Angeles Clippers’ Patrick Beverley and the Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant keep up their feud? It’s been an entertaining series.

#2 The series moves back to Los Angeles. Will that be some kind of advantage for the Clippers as they know anytime they play Golden State they have a lot to go up against?

David does the Warriors podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Hold off from pressing the panic button on the Warriors

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bleacherreport.com photo: The Los Angeles Clippers routed Golden State Warriors, erasing a 31-point deficit in Game 2 at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Monday night. The series moves to Staples Center in Los Angeles for Game 3 on Wednesday night. 

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon
SRS Contributor

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors were riding high, leading the Los Angeles Clippers 73-50 at halftime.

Warriors point guard Stephen Curry led all scorers with 22 points in the first half on 6-of-9 shooting, 4-of-7 from three, and 6-for-6 from the foul line. But in the second half, Curry scored just seven points.

Then the roof caved in.

Golden State couldn’t hold on to its 31-point lead that they built up in the third quarter after starting the frame scoring 21 points on 9-for-9 shooting off eight assists, and saw the Los Angeles Clippers complete the largest postseason comeback in NBA history by shocking the Warriors, 135-131, to take Game 2 of their first-round series to even the best-of-7 series at one game apiece.

Rookie Landry Shamet hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 16.5 seconds remaining to complete the Clippers’ historic comeback over the Warriors.

The Clippers outscored Golden State 85-58 in the second half. In the third quarter alone, Los Angeles outscored Golden State 44-35. The 44 points were the most in a postseason quarter for Los Angeles.

The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 this Thursday night from Staple Center.

Oh yeah, the Warriors lost center DeMarcus Cousins with what is being reported as a “significant” quad injury for an “extended period of time.”

Cousins injured his left quad muscle after diving to the floor following a steal in the first quarter. Cousins immediately grabbed his left side and limped off the floor and into the locker room.

An MRI for Cousins is scheduled for Tuesday, but it is feared that Cousins will miss the rest of the series if not, the remainder of the Warriors’ playoff run.

Before Warriors fans hit the panic button, let me put you at ease: the Warriors will still win this series. I know that’s not nothing new, but its just reassurance from me.

Sure, the top-seeded Warriors were punched in the mouth by the eighth-seeded Clippers on Monday night behind a career-high 36 points and 11 assists from Lou Williams and 25 points from Montrezl Harrell, but it did take a herculean effort for Los Angeles to take down the two-time defending NBA champions in front of a frenzied, sold out Oracle Arena crowd.

Clippers starting point guard Patrick Beverley, who continues to be the team’s biggest mouthpiece, has clearly made life difficult for Kevin Durant in this series. Beverley has been irritating (in a good way) Durant at every point, and even gotten the two of them ejected from Game 1.

You expect Durant, who had 21 points, five rebound and five assists in Game 2 before fouling out, to bounce back in Game 3. Durant finished with more turnovers (9) than shot attempts (8), but shot 11-of-12 from the free throw line.

Klay Thompson scored 17 points and Draymond Green had 14 points with nine assists.

Golden State committed 21 turnovers in Game 1, then follow up with 22 more on Monday night. The Warriors have been flat out sloppy in protecting the basketball.

When the Warriors protect the basketball and limit the turnovers, they are nearly unbeatable. Golden State got away with that in Game 1, but got caught with their hand in the cookie jar in Game 2.

The Clippers made Golden State pay this time around.

Even in the defeat, one positive the Warriors can take from this loss was the game that backup center Kevon Looney had. After Cousins left the game, Looney played big, finishing with a career-high 19 points and making all six shot attempts.

Looney will most certainly start Game 3 in Cousins’ absence. Looney did make 24 starts this season for the Warriors and will look to build off his breakout performance.

Instead of the projected four-game sweep that everyone penciled for Golden State, the Warriors will end the series in five or six games.

The Clippers exasperated all their energy in securing Game 2 and after stealing a game that they had no business of winning, Los Angeles has gotten the Warriors’ full attention and are beaming with confidence.

That’s not a good thing.

Clippers tie series 1-1 with 135-131 win over Warriors

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors returned to Oracle Arena with a 1-0 series lead and had hoped to make it 2-0 against the Los Angeles Clippers in a nationally televised game Monday night. The Warriors didn’t do that.

It was a cold, rainy day in the Bay Area, but the Warriors announced their starting five of Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and DeMarcus Cousins nonetheless.

Game 2 was presented by realtor.com, who provided gold and royal blue playoff t-shirts. The lights and flames went up and the game was underway in Oakland. Los Angeles scored first for a 2-0 lead, but Curry tied the game with a 2-point field goal to tie the game 2-2 at the 10:34 mark of the first quarter. The game remained close throughout the first, and at one point, Golden State was 9-10 from the free throw line compared to LA’s 0-0. Yet, Golden State continued to amaze Dub Nation with some sweet plays, including a reverse layup from Klay Thompson. The Warriors led 33-25 at the end of the first.

DeMarcus Cousins suffered a left quad injury in the first and didn’t return to Monday’s game. Cousins will get an MRI in the next 24 hours.

Despite Cousins’ injury, Golden State continued to prevail. The Warriors expanded their lead to the double-digits from the start of the second quarter. Shaun Livingston dribbled the ball and tried to knock down a jumper, but it was unsuccessful. However, Andre Iguodala came to the rescue and knocked down a shot.

Green and Durant got the job done late in the second. The two made eye contact, Durant caught Green’s pass and then threw down a wide-open slam dunk that could’ve destroyed the rim. Oh, and there was a lot of yelling, but thankfully, no scuffles like the scuffle between Durant and Patrick Beverley in Game 1 at Oracle Saturday.

Curry added to the Warriors’ lead with a 3-pointer at the 2-minute mark. The Warriors went up 64-48 with two minutes left in the second. But the Warriors weren’t done yet. Kevon Looney scored his 10th point of the second and 14th point overall to make it 70-50 in favor of the Warriors. With that point, Looney recorded a new playoff career-high with 14 points (5-of-5 FG), one off of his regular season career-high of 15 points (January, 28, 2019, at the Indiana Pacers). Curry quickly stepped back from a Clipper defender and hit a 3 to give the Warriors a 73-50 lead to close out the first half.

The Warriors kept the points and assists coming in the third quarter. The Warriors were outscored by the Clippers 44-35, but they held a 108-94 lead at the end of the third.

The Warriors were outscored by the Clippers 41-23 and ended up losing by a final score of 135-131. Their series is now tied 1-1.

Check out the Warriors’ final stats below.

The series shifts to LA for Game 3 at Staples Center Thursday night at 7:30 pm PT.

Sportstalk podcast at Diplomat Steakhouse in downtown Sacramento — Monday, April 15, 2019

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Photo credit: diplomat.com

Cast: Michael Duca (mlb.com and host), Jeremy Kahn (SF Giants reporter), Jeremy Harness (SF Giants and PGA reporter), London Marq (Sacramento Kings and SJ Earthquakes reporter), Jeremiah Salmonson (Sacramento Kings reporter), Charlie O (Oakland A’s and Sacramento Kings reporter), Lee Leonard (producer). Sportstalk is proud to podcast at The Diplomat Steakhouse at 1117 11th Street in downtown Sacramento. Our thanks to our hosts: Owner Ramesh Prasad,  Pa Vang Executive Vice President, Brianna Blaschke Event Concierge and Executive Chef Chris Manning.

On the podcast, discussions of the recent Sacramento Kings season and their new head coach for the 2019-20 season, progress reports on the Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants along with the San Jose Sharks and Golden State Warriors in the playoff hunt.

The Diplomat’s statement is as follows: Being diplomatic is our brand’s core binding. We are intuitive when in conducting your dining experience, and can achieve peaceful resolutions to any quandary while facilitating intriguing discussion with anyone on the map. We broadened the scope and magnified the habitual steakhouse fare. We resolve differences by implementing international fusion cuisine to please any and all palates. We strive to achieve a peaceful atmosphere, and our ingenuity gives us the edge to connect to any guest.

Restaurateur, Ramesh Prasad, has dined worldwide in the vast-ever occurring steakhouse and knows the ins and outs of traditional fine dining concepts. Complacent with their predictability, he manifested his vision into reality. Sacramento is in the prime of revitalization, and developing a signature steakhouse is pioneering the industries’ cravings.

Reports: Kings hire Luke Walton to be their next coach

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luke walton - le bron

by Charlie O. Mallonee

To no one’s surprise, Sam Amick of theathletic.com reported earlier today that the Sacramento Kings had reached an agreement in principle with Luke Walton to become the next head coach of the team replacing Dave Joerger. Most reporters and analysts were speculating that Vlade Divac wanted Walton even before he parted ways with the Lakers.

There is no reason to doubt Amick’s reports. He has covered the Kings for years and has the respect of the front office. Amick is not a reporter who bites on the first shiny object in the water. If he did not feel there was real credence to the information he received, Amick would not have reported it.

The move also makes sense because the Kings reportedly tried to lure Walton to become their head coach before they hired Dave Joerger. Walton did not become a candidate for the Sacramento job at that time because the Lakers were pursuing him at the same time.

Walton will have Vlade’s trust

Walton and Divac were Lakers teammates in 2004-05 which was Divac’s final year as a player. They know each other well which is important to Divac who seems to very comfortable having an inner circle that is very familiar to him.

That can also be a detriment. One of the roles Walton may be able to play is to urge Divac to open up and expand the Kings front office to bring in more experienced executives to assist him in running the operation.

Because Walton will have an instant credibility factor with Divac, he will probably be included in making personnel decisions where Joerger was never included in that part of the operation. We know that because Joerger made no secret about his lack of involvement in personnel decisions.

Walton also is from the Steve Kerr coaching tree

luke walton

Walton is known for the incredible job he did filling in Steve Kerr when he was out due to medical issues. Walton led Golden State to a 39-4 record until Kerr was able to return to the bench.

Walton got off to a solid start with the Lakers in his first year as head coach, but ran into a firestorm when LeBron James joined the team in his second season the head man. LeBron not only cost Walton his job, but convinced Magic Johnson to bail out as President of Basketball Pperations. James manages to suck the air out of any team that he is a part of as a player, de facto coach, and de facto general manager.

Walton has his work cut out for himself

Walton has some strong returning players in De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Marvin Bagley III, and Harry Giles III. Will Harrison Barnes invoke his $25-million option? Should the Kings resign or match offers for Willie Cauley-Stein? Who should the team pursue in free agency?

Sacramento finished nine games out the playoffs this season. It will be no easy task to break into the playoff tournament next season, but Walton will have four years to make this team a success.

Walton will be a different personality

luke

Where Joerger was an introverted, close to the vest personality, Walton will an open, upfront star in front of the cameras. He will be a PR star for the Kings. That will be of help on an on-going basis. It will be something they haven’t had in long. long time. The fans and media will love it.