Luke Walton Has ‘hell of an Opportunity' With Kings, Steve Kerr Believes

On Friday, Warriors coach Steve Kerr advised Luke Walton to take a vacation and figure out what he wanted to do next.

That "vacation" lasted roughly 24 hours, as Walton agreed to a four-year contract to be the next Kings coach, a source confirmed to NBC Sports California's James Ham.

"Happy for Luke," Kerr told reporters Saturday before the NBA first-round playoff series opener between the Warriors and Clippers. "That was quick."

Walton will take over a Kings team that surprised many by winning 39 games this season. De'Aaron Fox is a budding superstar, Buddy Hield had a breakout third season, and Marvin Bagley had an excellent rookie campaign.

"Great opportunity," Kerr said. "Really nice, young team. I thought Dave Joerger did a tremendous job there the last few years, and they've established a really good foundation, so it's a hell of an opportunity for him."

[RELATED: How Walton, Kings could be a good fit together]

The Kings surprisingly fired Joerger on Thursday, one day after their regular-season finale.

Walton served as a Warriors assistant for two years, and went 39-4 as the interim head coach in 2015-16 while Kerr recovered from back surgery, before taking the Lakers' head-coaching job three seasons ago. The Lakers, who missed the playoffs in a season where they had high expectations, agreed to part ways with Walton on Friday.

Walton went 98-148 in his three seasons in LA.

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