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Los Angeles Lakers ‘Mutually’ Part Ways With Coach Luke Walton

Tyler Kaufman/Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Mass upheaval within the Los Angeles Lakers organization continued on Friday afternoon when the team announced that Luke Walton was stepping down as head coach.

The Lakers said in a statement that Walton and the team had “mutually agreed to part ways,” without elaborating. The news came three days after Magic Johnson, the team’s president of basketball operations, made the surprise announcement that he was resigning so that he could devote more time to his various business interests.

Walton, 39, was in his third season with the Lakers, who were expected to vie for a playoff spot after signing LeBron James, a four-time N.