Cleveland Cavaliers Hire Former NBA Head Coach As Assistant

The Cleveland Cavaliers have hired former NBA head coach Luke Walton as an assistant and will join the staff of J.B. Bickerstaff, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are hiring Luke Walton as an assistant coach, sources tell ESPN. Walton joins JB Bickerstaff's coaching staff after spending five-plus years as head coach of the Lakers and Kings. Walton spent his final two seasons as a player with Cleveland a decade ago.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 31, 2022

Walton's previous stop was with the Sacramento Kings, where he served as head coach from 2019 to November 2021. He was fired by the Kings after they started the 2021-22 season 6-11.

Prior to Sacramento, Walton landed his first head coaching gig and spent three seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers from the 2016-17 season to the 2018-19 season.

Walton last served as an assistant back in the 2015-16 campaign with the Golden State Warriors. He spent a couple of seasons with the Warriors and won one ring with the Bay Area franchise.

Walton was also named interim coach of Golden State to begin the 2015-16 season when Steve Kerr took a leave of absence due to a back injury. He led the Warriors to a 24-0 start and was named Western Conference Coach of the Month in the months of October and November. He turned the team over back to Kerr with a 39-4 record.

Walton spent the majority of his playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He played his final couple of seasons as a member of the Cavaliers, where he returns as an assistant.

Cleveland had a renaissance campaign in 2021-22, where they made the play-in tournament as the no. 8 seed. Unfortunately, they failed to advance to the postseason after losing to the Nets and then to the Hawks.

Nonetheless, the Cavaliers will look to build on this past season as they look to return to the postseason for the first time since 2018.