The Lakers hire Warriors assistant Luke Walton as their head coach.
LOS ANGELES — Luke Walton is coming home to rebuild the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers reached an agreement Friday night with the Golden State assistant to become their head coach, choosing a leader for their new era after Kobe Bryant.
The Lakers grabbed Walton just five days after they fired Byron Scott, who led the 16-time NBA champions to the two worst seasons in franchise history.
Walton spent nine seasons with the Lakers, winning two championship rings as a smart, steady player. Now the 36-year-old Southern California native returns to become the 26th head coach in franchise history.
“We’re excited to bring Luke back to Los Angeles, where we feel he’s going to start an outstanding coaching career,” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said. “He’s one of the brightest young coaching minds in the game and we feel fortunate that he’ll be leading the on-court future of our team.”
Walton will join the Lakers after the Warriors’ playoff run. That could take several weeks, since Golden State is headed for the second round with designs on a second straight championship.
Walton became a top candidate for coaching jobs earlier this season when he led Golden State to a 39-4 record as the interim head coach while Steve Kerr was sidelined by a back injury. Walton stepped in and the Warriors posted an NBA-record 24-0 start before ceding the job back to Kerr.
He won’t have nearly the same level of talent in Los Angeles, which is rebuilding after the retirement of Bryant, Walton’s longtime teammate. Los Angeles went 21-61 and 17-65 under Scott, the two worst seasons in franchise history.
Paul George scored 21 points, Myles Turner added 15, and Indiana beat visiting Toronto to force a Game 7 of their series.
That will be played Sunday in Toronto,.
Indiana scored 18 straight points in the second half to pull away from the second-seeded Raptors.
Dwyane Wade scored 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, and Miami forced a Game 7 with a win over host Charlotte.
Luol Deng was 9 of 14 from the field and finished with 21 points for the Heat, who will host Game 7 on Sunday.
Miami overcame a playoff career-high 37 points from the Hornets’ Kemba Walker.