The Kings have reportedly added another assistant to their coaching staff while they await the arrival of head coach Mike Brown, who is likely headed to the NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors.
Andscape’s Marc J. Spears reports Luke Loucks, who currently works in basketball strategy and personnel evaluation for the Phoenix Suns, has agreed to join Brown’s staff in Sacramento. Brown and Loucks have worked together before, first with the Warriors and again with the Nigerian national team.
Loucks, 32, went undrafted out of Florida State in 2012. He played in Latvia, Cypress and Belgium from 2012-14 before returning to the United States after being selected by the Maine Red Claws in the fourth round of the 2014 NBA Development League draft.
Loucks played a total of 19 games for the Red Claws and Erie BayHawks in 2014-15. He spent the 2015-16 season in Germany with the Hebeisen White Wings, averaging 9.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.1 steals despite playing most of the season with a ruptured disc in his back.
Loucks underwent back surgery and again returned to the United States, this time to take a paid film and player development internship with the Warriors. He was named a two-way player development coach in 2017-18. In 2019, he was promoted to a player development position with the NBA team, a position he held for two seasons.
When Brown was named head coach of the Nigerian national team in 2020, he hired Loucks as an assistant and player development coach. Loucks was part of the staff that led Nigeria to the Olympics in 2021.
Loucks is at least the fourth known assistant to join Brown’s staff in Sacramento. The Kings recently announced the hiring of associate head coach Jordi Fernandez, a Denver Nuggets assistant who also served on Brown’s staff at the Olympics.
Marc Stein of Substack reported Sacramento’s coaching staff will also include Charlotte Hornets assistant Jay Triano and Doug Christie, a holdover from last year’s staff, but the team has not announced those hires.
Brown, now in his sixth season as Steve Kerr’s lead assistant with Golden State, will fulfill his duties with the Warriors before making the move to Sacramento. The Warriors hold a 3-0 lead over the Dallas Mavericks going into Game 4 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday.
