THE ATHLETIC's Sam Amick reported the NBA Kings and new coach Luke Walton were "clearly moving forward with their working relationship" yesterday following a lawsuit that claims he sexually assaulted a woman in '16. Walton and Kings VP/Basketball Operations & GM Vlade Divac met with former Suns and Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek in Sacramento about the possibility of Hornacek being the team’s "lead assistant coach." There was "one other known interview for a lower level coaching position that took place" yesterday as well, with Divac and Walton also "taking part." Those interviews had been "scheduled before the allegations surfaced" (THEATHLETIC.com, 4/23).
LOST HER WAY: In L.A., Bill Plaschke writes under the headline, "Lakers' Coaching Search Is More Proof Jeanie Buss' Team Is Lost Without A Leader." The Lakers' coaching situation is "messy, it’s farcical, and the winner could be whoever has the foresight and gumption to turn the job down." What the Lakers are "searching for, and why they haven’t been more thorough in their search, are questions" for Buss. But during a time when Lakers fans, sponsors and partners are "all pining for signs of her leadership, she has avoided media transparency or accountability." In this "toughest stretch of her two-year stint as controlling owner," Buss has "shrunk from the moment" (L.A. TIMES, 4/24).
LONDON CALLING: NBCSPORTS.com's Peter King wrote the Packers' "time is coming," likely as soon as '20, to "finally go on the road to play a game in London." The reasons why the team has never had to make the trip are "predictable -- the Packers don’t want to give up one of eight sold-out home games, and no team hosting the Packers wants to give up that gate because the Packers travel so well and fill the stadium and local hotels with fans." King: "But I think the NFL is conscious of not giving a prized franchise special treatment" (NBCSPORTS.com, 4/22).
