3:34pm: The Kings have officially confirmed the hiring of Harding. In the same press release, the team also announces that it has hired veteran coach and former NBA player Stacey Augmon as an assistant.
Rico Hines, who had been the head coach of the Stockton Kings – Sacramento’s G League affiliate – was named a player development coach.
3:21pm: The Kings are hiring former WNBA star Lindsey Harding as an assistant coach on Luke Walton‘s staff, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN (Twitter link).
“Lindsey is a rising star and I’m so excited to have her join our incredibly experienced team of coaches,” Walton said in a statement, per Shelburne (Twitter link). “Her basketball IQ and proven success on the court will be a valuable addition to our growing team.“
The Sixers added Harding to their scouting department last August, hiring her as a full-time scout for the 2018/19 season. At the end of the season, Philadelphia adjusted her role, announcing that she’d be a player development coach going forward.
Instead, the former Duke Blue Devil will head to Sacramento, where she’ll get an opportunity to become the latest addition to a growing group of female assistants around the NBA. As Shelburne notes (via Twitter), Kara Lawson (Celtics), Becky Hammon (Spurs), Jenny Boucek (Mavericks), and Lindsay Gottlieb (Cavaliers) are among the other women who will be on teams’ benches in 2019/20.
The 76ers and Harding are parting ways “on great terms,” says Derek Bodner of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Walton stocking the cupboards
Plastic Man
A move to counter his sexual assault charge filed by that LA reporter? Now all of a sudden he is a friend to women?
Forgot all about the best WNBA Baller on an NBA bench, Washington’s Kristi Tolliver.