LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luke Walton is out as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers after three losing seasons.Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka announced Walton's departure Friday, three days after the abrupt resignation of president of basketball operations Magic Johnson. Pelinka called Walton leaving a mutual decision.The former Lakers forward went 98-148 after getting his first permanent head coaching job with the 16-time NBA champions. The former Golden State assistant never led the Lakers to the playoffs, not even after the arrival of LeBron James last summer.Walton leaves three days after the Lakers' final game of their 37-45 season was upstaged by the shocking pregame resignation of Johnson, who inherited Walton when he took over the Lakers' front office in February 2017. Johnson attributed his decision in part to his desire and reluctance to fire Walton, who is close to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss.A potential power struggle instead ended with both men out of their jobs after this wild week.... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Pelicans have reached an agreement in principle to make former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin New Orleans' new executive vice president of basketball operations, three people familiar with the situation said Friday.The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because contract negotiations are ongoing and no announcement has been made.Griffin will take over for former Pelicans general manger Dell Demps, who was fired in the middle of his ninth season with the club — a few weeks after All-Star Anthony Davis' trade request in late January.Griffin's agreement to join New Orleans, which was first reported by ESPN, puts him at the center of the club's effort to find the best deal for Davis. Griffin also could decide the fate of Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry, who has two years left on his contract.The 45-year-old Griffin was the Cavaliers' GM from 2014 to 2017, during which LeBron James returned from Miami to Cleveland and the Cavs... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Three people familiar with the situation say the Pelicans have reached an agreement in principle to make former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin New Orleans' new executive vice president of basketball operations.The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because contract negotiations are ongoing and no announcement has been made.Griffin will take over for former Pelicans general manger Dell Demps, who was fired in the middle of his ninth season with the club and a few weeks after All-Star Anthony Davis' trade request in late January.Griffin's agreement to join New Orleans, which was first reported by ESPN, puts him at the center of the club's effort to find the best deal for Davis. Griffin also could decide the fate of Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry.The 45-year-old Griffin was the Cavaliers GM from 2014 to 2017, during which LeBron James returned from Miami to Cleveland and the Cavs won an NBA title.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luke Walton is out as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers after three losing seasons.Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka announced Walton's departure Friday, three days after the abrupt resignation of president of basketball operations Magic Johnson. Pelinka called Walton leaving a mutual decision.The former Lakers forward went 98-148 after getting his first permanent head coaching job with the 16-time NBA champions. The former Golden State assistant never led the Lakers to the playoffs, not even after the arrival of LeBron James last summer.Walton leaves three days after the Lakers' final game of their 37-45 season was upstaged by the shocking pregame resignation of Johnson, who inherited Walton when he took over the Lakers' front office in February 2017. Johnson attributed his decision in part to his desire and reluctance to fire Walton, who is close to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss.A potential power struggle instead ended with both men out of their jobs after this wild week.... [More]

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — The Cavaliers aren't chasing a championship this spring. They're pursuing a coach.This time, methodically.No longer NBA title contenders, Cleveland is in the initial stages of an expansive, open-minded search general manager Koby Altman hopes will lead to finding the right coach for his young team, which is coming off a 63-loss season."We have to preach patience and we have to continue to grow this thing and we have to find a leader that's obsessed with that process of growing," Altman said Friday while outlining the type of candidates he'll interview. "We're tasked with doing that. We're excited about the next steps. We're done in April for the first time in four years, so we have a lot of time."At this time a year ago, the Cavs were preparing to make another deep playoff run. They made the Finals for the fourth straight year, but fell short in June against Golden State and then suffered a more devastating blow when LeBron James left a month later. The team endured... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby had an emergency appendectomy two days before his team begins the playoffs.There is no timetable for his return, although the 6-foot-8 forward is expected to miss at least the first round. The Raptors open at home Saturday against the Orlando Magic.Anunoby was diagnosed with acute appendicitis and had surgery Thursday night at Mount Sinai Hospital."My first thought is what a bad break for him, just bizarre timing," coach Nick Nurse said after practice Friday. "And it doesn't even happen on the basketball court or have anything to do with it."The 21-year-old player is in his second season. He averaged 7.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 20.2 minutes in 67 games."He's just kind of a Swiss knife, he can give you a lot of stuff defensively, offensively," center Marc Gasol said.Anunoby missed 15 games this season, sitting out eight early games for personal reasons. He also missed three games with a sprained wrist and four recently with concussion-like symptoms."He's had a difficult year," Nurse said. "But in the past 10 to 12 days, I feel like he was in a really good space."The Raptors had the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. Nurse is not yet sure how he'll adjust his lineup."This is a team with a lot of size, and OG is one of our size and length guys," the coach said. "So obviously we're going to miss him."

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder forward Paul George could miss Sunday's playoff opener at Portland with right shoulder soreness.Thunder coach Billy Donovan said Friday the All-Star is considered day-to-day.George finished second in the league with 28.0 points per game this season, and he led the league with 2.21 steals per contest. He shoots 39 percent from 3-point range and is the team's No. 3 rebounder.George hit the game-winning 3-pointer against Houston on Tuesday, but he aggravated a previous injury during the game and was in too much pain to play in the regular-season finale Wednesday at Milwaukee.George also missed games on Feb. 28, March 2 and March 3 with soreness in the right shoulder. He has had problems with his left shoulder, too, though the issues are unrelated.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Mitch Kupchak says the Charlotte Hornets plan to do everything they can to keep three-time All-Star Kemba Walker.The Hornets first-year general manager knows that has become a two-sided equation given Walker is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July and able to choose his next team. The 28-year-old Walker was an All-Star game starter this season and averaged a career-high 25.6 points per game, so he's expected to be hot commodity when the free agent market opens in July."I think this is a place that he wants to be and we'll do everything that we can to bring him back here," Kupchak said Friday. "But he is half of the equation."For Walker to stay, Kupchak may have to find productive quality pieces to put around him — and quickly.They've struggled to do that in the past with players like Nicolas Batum — who received a five-year, $120 million contract three years ago — failing to live up to expectations.Walker has said in the past he wants to continue playing... [More]

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Detroit Pistons coach Dwane Casey says star forward Blake Griffin is still day to day heading into the postseason.The NBA playoffs start Saturday, but Detroit opens its series against top-seeded Milwaukee on Sunday night. The extra rest was a bit of a break for the Pistons, who also get two days off before Games 2 and 3. Griffin, who has been dealing with a troublesome left knee, did not play in the regular-season finale Wednesday when Detroit wrapped up a playoff spot by winning at New York .Griffin played 75 games this season, his most since 2013-14, when he was with the Los Angeles Clippers. He averaged a career-high 24.5 points per game, along with 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists. He also made a career-high 189 3-pointers, shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis are the Euro stars of the future for the Dallas Mavericks now that Dirk Nowitzki has retired after a record 21 seasons with the same franchise.The rookie sensation from Slovenia and the 7-foot-3 Latvian didn't get to play together in the two months after Dallas acquired Porzingis in a blockbuster trade with the New York Knicks.The decision to push the recovery past the one-year mark on Porzingis' knee injury was essentially an admission by the Mavericks that their focus was on 2019-20.And now that an emotional two-day send-off for the NBA's most decorated European player is over, Dallas can concentrate on ending a playoff drought that covered Nowitzki's final three seasons — the longest of the big German's career.The Mavericks didn't win a playoff series in eight seasons with Nowitzki after he led them to their only championship."I cannot tell you what to expect," said Doncic, the overwhelming favorite for rookie of the year despite the second... [More]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sacramento's best season in 13 years wasn't enough to save coach Dave Joerger's job.General manager Vlade Divac fired Joerger on Thursday after he helped develop the young Kings into playoff contenders before ultimately falling short in the franchise's 13th straight losing season."I think he did a great job to make that step," Divac said. "But moving forward, I just felt like we had to go a different direction. It's been three years and we made some progress. This year was a good season but I think we could do more, especially after All-Star break."Divac said he had been contemplating the decision to change coaches for a while and ultimately made it after the team stumbled to the finish with a 9-16 record after the All-Star break. The poor stretch run left Sacramento with a 39-43 record, nine games out of a playoff spot after being tied for the eighth spot in the West heading into the final game before the break.The Kings had their most wins since having a 44-38... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cavaliers' next coach will inherit a better situation than the one Larry Drew got handed.Drew and the Cavs parted ways Thursday after a challenging, 19-win season that followed LeBron James leaving for Los Angeles and included a rash of injuries to a young roster.Although expected, Drew's departure creates more work for a franchise that will sit out the NBA playoffs this season following a four-year run in the Finals with James.The 61-year-old Drew met with general manager Koby Altman, and the two decided it was best if they went in separate directions. Altman said in a release that Drew "respectfully declined to participate in the search process and will not be returning to coach the Cavaliers."The Cavs tied for the league's second-worst record with Phoenix, but Drew kept his team playing hard until the end. He received praise from many of his players, including All-Star forward Kevin Love, who was limited to just 22 games following toe surgery."We have great respect... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — For the second straight season the Portland Trail Blazers earned the third seed in the West and home-court for the playoffs. This year they're looking for a better outcome than last year when they were surprisingly swept in the opening round by New Orleans.It won't be easy.The Trail Blazers take on Oklahoma City, a team that swept Portland in their four regular-season meetings."Being a top three team in the West is quite an accomplishment. It shows that our work has paid off — especially after last season to be able to bounce back and do it again — to me that's proving it up," Damian Lillard said. "That's showing a certain amount of grit and desire to get back to this point."We should be proud of ourselves, but obviously our business is just beginning."Portland locked the No. 3 seed with a wild 136-131 win over the Sacramento Kings in the regular-season finale on Wednesday night. Rookie Anfernee Simons, just 19, had 37 points in his first career start and the Blazers... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — John Paxson remains convinced the Chicago Bulls are on the right path despite one of the worst records in franchise history and that they have the coach they need in Jim Boylen.Chicago's top basketball executive, Paxson said Thursday he expects the team to compete for a playoff spot next season. He also said it's "very possible" Boylen gets a contract extension.The Bulls went from 27 victories to finishing with a 22-60 mark in the second year of their rebuild. That gave them the fifth-worst win percentage (.268) in franchise history — the lowest since the 1998-99 team went 13-37 (.260) following the breakup of the dynasty teams in the franchise's heyday.The 22 victories were the fewest for Chicago since the 2001-02 team finished 21-61. And with a 9-32 mark at the United Center, Chicago tied New York for the league's worst home record."I think our goal next year has to be to be in the hunt," Paxson said. "We want to be in the hunt again. That's going to take us being healthy.... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets ended their six-year playoff drought in style.After spending most of the season jockeying with the juggernaut Golden State Warriors for top billing in the West, the Nuggets fended off Portland and Houston to earn the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and will face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.Game 1 is Saturday night at the Pepsi Center, where the Nuggets posted the NBA's best home record (34-7), including a thrilling 99-95 win over Minnesota in the finale that gave them a 12-1 record on the second night of back-to-backs.More importantly, it locked down the coveted No. 2 seed that ensures the Nuggets won't have to face Golden State, Utah or Houston — against whom they were a combined 3-8 this season — until the conference finals, should they get that far.It won't be easy.The novice Nuggets have just three players with playoff experience — Paul Millsap, Mason Plumlee and Will Barton — and the Spurs are making their 22nd straight playoff... [More]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Memphis Grizzlies started the offseason Thursday with plenty of questions to answer, then controlling owner Robert Pera added to the to-do list by firing coach J.B. Bickerstaff as part of a front-office shake-up that demoted general manager Chris Wallace to scout.The Grizzlies announced the moves after both Bickerstaff and Wallace spoke to reporters following a second straight season outside the playoffs. After a 12-5 start, Memphis plummeted and finished 33-49, tied with New Orleans and Dallas.Wallace had said earlier that Bickerstaff would be returning after doing a "terrific job." But Pera didn't agree and restructured the front office a few hours later."In order to put our team on the path to sustainable success, it was necessary to change our approach to basketball operations," Pera said in a statement. "I look forward to a re-energized front office and fresh approach to Memphis Grizzlies basketball under new leadership, while retaining the identity and values... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cavaliers will continue to rebuild with a new coach. Larry Drew's run is over after one season.The team parted ways Thursday with Drew, who took over as the Cavs coach in October and led the club to 19 wins amid a swarm of injuries in Cleveland's first season since LeBron James left as a free agent.The Cavs tied for the NBA's second-worst record, but Drew earned praise for keeping his team competitive despite a young roster and only having All-Star forward Kevin Love for 22 games because of injuries."We have great respect and appreciation for Larry and the job that he did as the head coach of the Cavaliers for nearly the entire 2018-19 campaign. He brought professionalism, class and steady leadership both this past season and prior four years," general manager Koby Altman said in a release. "Larry and I had a productive discussion about this past season, the future of the franchise and the search process that we will shortly launch regarding the head coaching role."Larry... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cavaliers will continue to rebuild with a new coach. Larry Drew's run is over after one season.The team parted ways Thursday with Drew, who took over as the Cavs coach in October and led the club to 19 wins amid a swarm of injuries in Cleveland's first season since LeBron James left as a free agent.The Cavs tied for the NBA's second-worst record, but Drew earned praise for keeping his team competitive despite a young roster and only having All-Star forward Kevin Love for 22 games because of injuries."We have great respect and appreciation for Larry and the job that he did as the head coach of the Cavaliers for nearly the entire 2018-19 campaign. He brought professionalism, class and steady leadership both this past season and prior four years," general manager Koby Altman said in a release. "Larry and I had a productive discussion about this past season, the future of the franchise and the search process that we will shortly launch regarding the head coaching role."Larry... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rarely has a pro sports team experienced such a difference in drama levels from the start to finish of one season that these Minnesota Timberwolves did.As the Timberwolves wound down the second half of their schedule that was as dull as the first part was eventful, they were outspoken in their desire to establish a healthier and steadier environment for 2019-20 in which the excitement would be confined to contention for the playoffs instead of off-the-court issues."Stability is such a big key component in winning in the NBA," All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns said this week. "So hopefully this summer we can find that stability in our coaching staff and everything and find a way to come back ready to go and have a head start this time."Soap opera status was achieved before training, when Jimmy Butler's wish to be traded after just one season in Minnesota became public. Tom Thibodeau, one of the rare dual-role president-coach authorities remaining in the league who acquired Butler... [More]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Derrick White's ascension into the starting lineup and the pivotal role he has played in helping San Antonio earn its 22nd straight postseason appearance was a greater surprise to him than anyone else.To hear his teammates and coach Gregg Popovich tell it, the soft-spoken kid not only belongs in the spotlight, he commands it."He has been spectacular," Popovich said. "Everything he's done has been off the charts and I couldn't be more thrilled for him."The second-year point guard who did not receive a single scholarship offer from a four-year institution coming out of high school is about to step onto an even bigger stage: His first postseason start comes Saturday in his native Colorado as the seventh-seeded Spurs take on the second-seeded Nuggets in Denver, not far from where he played high school ball in suburban Parker. He averaged 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.2 steals and only one turnover as the Spurs split their four-game season series against the Nuggets.A... [More]