Lakers News: Luke Walton Has 'No Anxiety' About Future Amid Job Security Rumors

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton told Dave McMenamin of ESPN that he has "no anxiety" regarding his future with the franchise:

The Lakers have gone 98-147 in Walton's three seasons, missing the playoffs each year. The 39-year-old previously led the Golden State Warriors to a 39-4 record as their interim head coach in place of Steve Kerr, who took a leave of absence to recover from back issues. 

On Tuesday, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reported on The Jump that Walton and Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson "haven't spoken in weeks."

However, Johnson told reporters Tuesday evening that he has stepped down from his post.

Per Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times, Johnson "strongly" hinted a head-coaching change would have been imminent if he was still in charge after the season:

According to Bill Oram of The Athletic, Johnson said his call to step down was not related to a call on Walton's future:

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the "Lakers coaching staff fully expected to be fired in hours after the final game of the season."

Now it's unclear what the future holds for this team, especially considering that Johnson told reporters that he hadn't informed Lakers owner Jeanie Buss of his decision before holding the press conference:

If reports are accurate, however, then Johnson stepping down is a good thing for Walton's future in Los Angeles. At the least, he can lay claim that many of the issues that hindered the Lakers' progress this season were not his fault, a point made by Rachel Nichols of ESPN on The Jump Tuesday:

Los Angeles will finish its sixth straight losing season after it hosts the Blazers.