Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton already has interviewed with at least two teams, including the Knicks and Nets, according to an NBA source.Walton had pulled himself out of consideration from the Nets, who announced the hiring of Kenny Atkinson on Sunday.
According to a source, Knicks president Phil Jackson already has spoken with Walton, though it’s unclear if it was just a phone interview. The Post reported in Saturday’s editions the Warriors would give Walton permission to talk to other teams as long as it doesn’t interfere with the playoff push.
As interim coach filling in for Steve Kerr, Walton guided the Warriors to a 39-4 start to the season.
The league source said Walton could very easily stay with the Warriors another season, and he isn’t close to deciding on what to do.
“It’s going to be a long, deliberate process,’’ the source said.
Jackson said Thursday he would conduct a narrow coaching search confined to people he knows. Walton, who played in Los Angeles from 2003-11, is considered one of Jackson’s favorite players with the Lakers.
Toward the end of Walton’s playing career, then-Lakers coach Jackson began inviting Walton to coaches meetings to lift his spirits.
“I was really into what they were doing, and I figured if I can’t play. I’d like to do this coaching thing,” Walton said earlier this season.
Walton is considered a long shot to want the Knicks job as he’s a West Coast product. Walton and Kerr do not run the triangle offense in Golden State – just principles.
Walton already turned down a Jackson offer to be Derek Fisher’s assistant two years ago. If the Lakers job opens up, Walton figures to be a top candidate there.
NBA legend Bill Walton, father of Luke, recently said his son should stick with the record-breaking defending champions, who just achieved a 73-win season.
“First of all, Luke doesn’t listen to me. He makes his own decisions,” Bill Walton said. “I always tell him the same thing: ‘Luke, it doesn’t ever get any better than what you have right now.’ I was part of three of the greatest teams ever — UCLA, Portland, the Celtics. I’ve been at the other end of the spectrum, too. There are opposite ends of every teeter-totter, so I tell him, ‘Money can’t buy what you have.’ Head coaching jobs, they’re open for a reason. Those reasons don’t exist in Golden State.”
Interim coach Kurt Rambis is still in the mix for the Knicks’ permanent job.