Luke Walton Canned As Coach Of Kings

The Sacramento Kings fired coach Luke Walton on Sunday after the team has lost seven of eight games and dropped to 6-11 on the season, leaving the Kings 12th in the Western Conference.

Associate head coach Alvin Gentry will become the Kings' interim coach, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports.

Wojnarowski reports that Kings general manager Monte McNair will now have a chance now to hire his own head coach as Walton was hired under previous general manager Vlade Divac.

Sacramento has been one of the league's worst defensive teams under Walton, ranking 26th in defensive efficiency in both this season and last.

This season, the Kings also rank 26th in defensive rebounding percentage, 29th in paint points per game allowed and last in second-chance points per game allowed, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

ESPN reports that Sacramento also has the longest active playoff drought in the NBA. Since 2006, the Kings have had 10 head coaches, and Walton's interim replacement will be the 11th since Rick Adelman led the Kings to their last playoff berth.

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