Depending on who you want to believe—the press in New York, or Knicks president Phil Jackson—Luke Walton has been approached about coaching Carmelo Anthony and co. next season.
The Zen Master says no such conversation has taken place, and the media reports that Walton has gently turned his former coach down.
Luke Walton turned Phil down for assistant job NYK in 2014. Considering what's happened to Warriors & Knicks last 2 years, NY is tough sell.
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) April 18, 2016
Press accounts of coaching actions are untrue. Nobody has been asked nobody said no.
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) April 18, 2016
Walton, in an interim role, led the defending champion Golden State Warriors to a 39-4 record while head coach Steve Kerr recovered from back surgery.
Per the NY Daily News:
According to sources, Jackson reached out to the Golden State assistant in a phone conversation recently, following through on his pledge to only speak to those in his circle – or is it triangle? – about their interest in coaching the Knicks.
It’s unclear if the two sides will talk again. […] Whether or not this is an earnest effort from Jackson to find a replacement for his buddy Kurt Rambis is also unknown, but either way plucking Walton from the best team in the NBA was always viewed as a longshot.
Walton has been advised by others from Golden State to avoid the Knicks. His famous father, Bill Walton, is on the record saying Luke shouldn’t relocate. […] “I tell him, ‘Money can’t buy what you have,’” Bill Walton said recently. “Head-coaching jobs, they’re open for a reason. Those reasons don’t exist in Golden State.”
