Lakers officially hire Luke Walton as new head coach

Golden State Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton has agreed to become the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, as first reported by Howard Beck and Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report and confirmed via team press release a few minutes later.

"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 wrote in the press release. "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."

John Ireland reported earlier on Friday that the Lakers first meeting with Walton had went "well," which is apparently the case with the team agreeing to terms on a contract so soon afterward.

During the whole process, it appeared that Walton was the Lakers' first choice. They got their man, and a new era of Lakers basketball has begun. Stay tuned to Silver Screen and Roll for more updates on Walton's hiring.

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