Leicestershire 180 for 4 (Cosgrove 67) trail Worcestershire 553 for 6 dec (Rutherford 123, Mitchell 114, Cox 100*) by 373 runs

Acting captain Ben Cox became the third centurion of the innings as Worcestershire built a formidable first-innings score before declaring on the second day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Leicestershire at the Fischer County Ground.

The visitors then picked up four wickets, including the vital one of Mark Cosgrove, leaving the Foxes still needing another 224 runs to avoid the follow-on with six wickets in hand at the close of play.

Resuming on 348 for 4, the visitors quickly lost Hamish Rutherford, the New Zealander adding only seven runs to his overnight score of 116 before driving at a delivery from Tom Taylor and edging a catch to wicketkeeper Lewis Hill.

Taylor, who had two chances dropped off his bowling on the first day, saw another spilled when Will Davis could not hold a Ross Whitely drive chest-high in the covers.

Whitely, on 18 at the time, went on to 49 before an in-swinging yorker from Ben Mike both knocked the left-hander off his feet and dismissed him leg before wicket, but Cox, in company with Ed Barnard, took full toll of a tiring Leicestershire attack.

The pair added 145 for the seventh wicket, with Cox reaching his hundred off 133 balls to join Rutherford and Daryl Mitchell in going to three figures before declaring.

The last time Worcestershire had three centurions in an innings was in 2007, against Surrey at New Road.

Leicestershire suffered an early double blow when captain Paul Horton was caught at second slip driving loosely at Josh Tongue, and Hassan Azad fell leg before to Charlie Morris to leave them struggling on 24 for 2.

They were grateful to Cosgrove, whose belligerent counter-attack saw him hit eight boundaries in the space of nine deliveries from Wayne Parnell.

At the other end Javid was dropped twice by Tom Fell at third slip, on 1 off the bowling of Tongue and on 22 off Ed Barnard, and he and Cosgrove went on to add 111 for the third wicket before Cosgrove drove loosely at Barnard, failed to keep the ball down, and saw Brett D'Oliveira take a fine low catch at cover.

Tongue then bowled Colin Ackermann off the inside edge to ensure Worcestershire finished the day in a strong position to enforce an innings victory.

Lancashire 267 for 4 (Hameed 117, Jones 55, Jennings 52) lead Middlesex 265 (Eskinazi 75, Gubbins 55; Bailey 5-67, Anderson 3-41) by two runs

Form might be temporary but its departure can cause permanent infection. A host of cricketers have lost the ability to score runs or take wickets and taken refuge in the assurances of colleagues that this was merely a brief dip in their careers. Before long, though, they have stopped believing the comforting slogans and have consequently made it less likely they would ever again hear tunes of glory. In time they are found playing tennis and appearing in "Whatever Happened to…" features.

Last season Haseeb Hameed made 165 runs in 17 championship innings. Over the winter coaches he trusts in India told him his game was in good order. Very pleasant, of course, but no one could know whether he would ever again score serious runs against high-quality pace attacks containing, say, four international bowlers.

Well, we know now. For on a bright afternoon at Lord's, with the catkins still on the alders, Hameed rediscovered the composure and assurance that had amazed former Test cricketers in Manchester and Mohali some three seasons and a few lifetimes ago. His first century since August 2016 was more than a return to form; it was reclamation of treasured territory and the firmest of reminders that the talent which brought his colleagues onto the balcony at Rajkot was still in good order.

By the time he was dismissed for 117, caught and bowled by Dawid Malan when trying to pull a shortish ball, Hameed had hit 17 fours and had reached his century with a six which he smacked into the Grandstand off Toby Roland-Jones. Ed Smith, the national selector, had watched the innings and will surely have been impressed. Yet someone in the ECB should now sound a warning klaxon that it is far too soon to talk about Hameed returning to the England side. This is one century. It is still April and it is still the springtime of Hameed's career. He is, lest we forget, 22 years old.

But it still true that the Boltonian opener had looked good from the first delivery he faced. Rather than retreating into the meek quiescence which is so often the prelude to any batsman's dismissal, he sought to get forward and score runs. In Murtagh's fourth over there was a cover drive that recalled his enchanted summer of 2016; three balls later there was an even better stroke though midwicket off the front foot.

Throughout these early stages of Hameed's innings he was looking to play the ball rather than merely have it bowled to him. There was a scampered single, something rarely seen three years ago. There was more intent and a will to impose himself on the play. He was pro-active rather than pre-emptive, adjectives which may make him sound like a yoghurt as distinct from a nuclear attack, but are still valid when applied to his smooth movement onto the front foot. His 47 pre-prandial runs included nine fours and none of them had come off thin edges.

In the early afternoon he was roughed up a little by Steven Finn, who seemed to offer a few observations on his technique. But Hameed knew rather better than anyone else the shape his game was in. The cover drives, the creams through midwicket, the Fort Knox forward defensive and, just as importantly, the balls he left alone had given him all the evidence he needed. Only when Finn dug it in, and only a couple of times even then, did he look discomfited.

Yes, of course he had assistance from his colleagues. Most notably, this came from his opening partner, Keaton Jennings, who made 52 and put on 123 for the first wicket before he was tempted to poke at one outside the off stump from James Harris and nicked a catch to John Simpson. Brooke Guest, pressed into service as a No.3, made 17 before he was bowled through a gate of Brandenburgish dimensions by Tim Murtagh. The same bowler then tempted Glenn Maxwell into a booming drive and castled him off the inside edge.

Presumably troubled by these dismissals but clearly not disturbed by them, Hameed batted on, scoring only 34 runs between lunch and tea. Four overs after the resumption he drove Roland-Jones straight to the Nursery End boundary; the next ball was short and Hameed pulled it over the rope. His progress to a century was the first time he had rushed anywhere in 253 minutes; he had faced 167 balls and made maybe half a dozen errors.

In the evening session Rob Jones also batted well, reaching his own fifty and helping Dane Vilas establish what may turn out to be a very useful first-innings lead. But Jones knows whose name will be on the lips of most cricket lovers in pubs around Lord's this evening.

Of course, there may be those who believe that bringing the troubled state of Hameed's career to his attention inspired him to this day's triumph. That is surely a fine example of the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy. One thing, though, was made very clear by this innings: Hameed is, as his former colleague, Ashwell Prince, once said, born to bat.

He is, one might even say, a proper cricketer to his very fingertips.

Zimbabwe 185 for 4 (Chakabva 78*, Moor 45*) beat UAE 169 for 9 (Anwar 72, Shabber 56; Jarvis 4-17) by four runs on DLS Method

Kyle Jarvis picked four wickets, but Zimbabwe also had Regis Chakabva to thank for going 2-0 up in the four-match ODI series against UAE.

Chakabva put together an unbroken 93-run stand with Peter Moor, who made 45 off 33 balls, as Zimbabwe secured a four-run win via the DLS method in Harare. Chakabva, who opened the batting, finished with an unbeaten 78, his highest ODI score as well as his maiden ODI fifty.

After rain had shaved more than two hours of play during the first innings, Zimbabwe were set a revised target of 210 in 35 overs. They were struggling at 92 for 4 in the 20th after legspinner Imran Haider had Sikandar Raza caught on the boundary for 11.

This came on the back of two early wickets courtesy Rohan Mustafa's offspin and a catch in the deep by Mustafa off Zahoor Khan in the Powerplay. But stand-in captain Moor rallied Zimbabwe back into the match after entering at No. 6 with a bold counter-attack even as Chakabva played the anchor role.

The equation was climbing towards 10 per over at the end of the 27th when Zimbabwe 76 needed off 48 balls. Moor then climbed into Haider, clubbing him for four and six during a 15-run over to initiate a big momentum swing. Moor then hit Qadeer Ahmed for 12 runs in the 29th to bring the equation to a very manageable 49 off 36.

Chakabva needed medical treatment while cramping up at the end of the 31st over. This chewed up more time, and only one more over was possible. With Zimbabwe needing 25 off 18, umpires called off play due to bad light at which point Zimbabwe were fractionally ahead of the par score on the DLS calculations.

UAE had climbed out of an even bigger hole in the first innings, falling to 12 for 3 in the seventh over after Jarvis claimed three wickets in his six-over spell with the new ball.

Unlike Wednesday when the visitors struggled to post a competitive total, UAE fought back valiantly behind a 131-run partnership between Ghulam Shabber and Shaiman Anwar. The pair were cruising with Shaiman smashing Brandon Mavuta for six to bring up a 61-ball half-century in the 29th over, but two balls later play was halted with the score 122 for 3 due to persistent rains.

When play finally resumed, UAE only had six more overs left to bat. The stand was finally broken 13 balls after the restart when Donald Tiripano claimed Shabber for 56 and Shaiman fell six balls later to Tendai Chatara for 72.

Still, UAE were in an excellent position at 165 for 5 after captain Mohammad Naveed hit the first ball of the 34th over by Tiripano for six. But UAE managed just four runs off the final 11 deliveries of the innings. Tiripano claimed two more wickets in the ensuing sequence before Jarvis returned in the 35th to claim Chirag Suri and Zahoor Khan was runout trying to steal a bye off the final ball as UAE ended on 169 for 9.

The stumble at the finish cost UAE badly. Even with the 41-run adjusted target, they could not keep Moor and Chakabva from edging past them.

The teams square off in the third ODI on Sunday.

An attorney for Robert Kraft argued Friday that the public release of video evidence in the prostitution solicitation case against the New England Patriots owner would invade his privacy, while a state attorney acknowledged there was no evidence of human trafficking at the spa Kraft visited.

William Burck told a Palm Beach County judge that releasing the video would only satisfy a "prurient interest" during a hearing held in part to determine whether media outlets -- including ESPN -- could offer arguments in the case.

Investigators initially said they were targeting human traffickers, but Assistant State Attorney Greg Kridos told the judge that there was no evidence of human trafficking at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida -- claims Kraft was never linked to.

Burck said the previously highly publicized allegations of human trafficking by both police and State Attorney Dave Aronberg had amounted to "politicking" and that they added to potential harm to Kraft's privacy in releasing video evidence while also jeopardizing his right to a fair trial on two counts of solicitation.

Jupiter police obtained a search warrant to secretly record at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa. Police say those cameras captured Kraft twice paying to have sex with spa employees in January. Kraft was one of about 300 male customers charged in a multicounty investigation that also resulted in 10 massage parlors being closed and their owners charged with felony prostitution.

Attorneys for media outlets say redacted versions of the video evidence should be released on public interest grounds, and Judge Leonard Hanser said Friday that he would grant their motion to intervene in the case.

He gave parties a deadline of Tuesday to submit additional documents.

Kraft's attorneys say the videos are an illegal invasion of privacy and are not necessary to be released publicly because the affidavits describe the acts that took place. They are seeking a motion to suppress the videos, arguing they also would mar chances for a fair trial.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- It was a practice swing unlike any other.

Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion, stepped to the tee box on the 13th hole at the tail end of Amen Corner during Friday's second round.

Johnson teed up his ball, squared up his stance and took a practice swing. What came next might be a staple of every weekend hacker's repertoire but is something rarely seen on the PGA Tour, especially at fabled Augusta National Golf Club.

Johnson inadvertently hit the ball on his practice swing, sending it caroming off the tee marker on the right. The ball ended up about 3 or 4 yards in front of Johnson, who scooped it up and re-teed.

"Shoot, they got that?" Johnson said after the round when told video of the swing existed. "Yeah, that was a good one there. That's a first. I thought I'd done it all, but now I know I've done it all."

Under United States Golf Association rules, a ball isn't considered to be "in play" until it's actually hit from the tee area. Because Johnson didn't have the intention of hitting the ball, he was allowed to re-tee and hit again.

"Zach's eyes were as big as I've ever seen them. His jaw dropped and we had a good chuckle knowing that wasn't a penalty, but a not-so-top-10 moment." Matt Kuchar on Zach Johnson

The exact scenario is actually covered under Rule 18-2 in the USGA rulebook, "Ball at Rest Moved." If the mishap had happened on his second shot from the middle of the fairway, after he'd already hit his tee shot, he would have had to replace his ball in its original position and incur a one-stroke penalty.

The good news for Johnson: He hit his actual drive 285 yards down the middle of the fairway, knocked his second shot to 30 feet and two-putted for birdie on the 510-yard, par-5 hole.

"I can't think of a time I've done it -- not on purpose," Johnson said of hitting the ball during a practice swing. "Maybe I've tried to do it, but I don't think I could do it again even if I tried."

Johnson, whose round of 73 left him 3 over for the tournament, said he knew there wasn't a penalty involved because "it all comes down to intent."

"That's something we're going to laugh about for a long time," said Matt Kuchar, who was playing with Johnson and Ian Poulter. "I know there's supposedly footage of every shot hit here at Augusta this year, and I'm hoping to see that footage at some point.

"I didn't see it, but I heard it. Zach's eyes were as big as I've ever seen them. His jaw dropped and we had a good chuckle knowing that wasn't a penalty, but a not-so-top-10 moment."

Kevin Kisner, who was playing in the group in front of Johnson, said he'd never done it in a competitive round.

"Only if I've been drinking," Kisner said.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- 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 it has become a two-sided equation, given that Walker is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July and able to choose his next team. Walker, 28, was an All-Star 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 might 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 that he wants to continue playing for the Hornets and "create something special here" because he loves living in Charlotte. But the 6-foot-1 point guard appeared to slightly back off those statements in recent days, saying repeatedly, "I want to win."

Charlotte has failed to reach the playoffs the past three seasons.

Walker, who led UConn to an NCAA title in 2011, has been to the postseason only twice in his eight NBA seasons and has never gotten out of the first round.

Kupchak said he knows Walker is frustrated with losing. He wants to put talent around his star player that would make the Hornets a consistent playoff contender, but he knows that won't be easy.

The Hornets don't have the money to sign a difference-maker in free agency, so Kupchak said the best option is to acquire talent through a trade.

Jeremy Lamb, the team's second-leading scorer, is an unrestricted free agent, and backup center Frank Kaminsky is a restricted free agent. Kupchak said the Hornets "financially are not as flexible as I would like us to be, so there could be some challenges going forward with our free agents."

Whether anything Kupchak does is enough to convince Walker to re-sign with Charlotte remains to be seen.

But in the meantime, Kupchak went out of his way to make sure Walker knows he's appreciated -- and wanted -- by the Hornets.

"There has not been a player with this franchise like Kemba Walker," Kupchack said of the Hornets' all-time leading scorer. "He is a once-in-a-generation kind of a player and he is fun to watch. He is competitive, he is a good teammate.

"Those are all qualities that I like to see and I know that people in the organization and our fans like to see in players."

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George is officially listed as "day-to-day" with right shoulder soreness, and head coach Billy Donovan is unwilling to speculate on George's availability for Game 1 on Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers. But George indicated Friday that regardless of pain, he will be playing.

"It's playoff time, so it's more than this, it's about being out there with my guys," George said. "As much as I can get it a hundred as possible, or close to it, you can expect me out there Sunday."

George sat out the Thunder's regular-season finale on Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks after going through a pregame workout and determining the pain was too much to play through. The Thunder practiced Friday, though it was more of a "mental" practice, Donovan said, without much contact for any player.

George has been dealing with soreness in both shoulders for some time now. The original right shoulder soreness began after he took a hit against the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 26. He sat the Thunder's next three games, then returned but took contact on his left side in a game and experienced similar soreness. He was listed as questionable because of left shoulder soreness on March 29 against the Nuggets, but decided to play. He's been keeping heat on his left shoulder during timeouts during games and receiving treatment for both sides.

"Making progress," George said of his right shoulder. "Every day try and get it better and better. And we'll see where we're at come Sunday."

George said recently that the shoulder issues are about taking contact in the wrong spot and it aggravates the injury.

"I'm good," George said after the game on March 29. "Throughout the game, all it takes is one hit and it gets sore, but if I don't get hit in that spot then we're good."

George played through a series of injuries during the postseason last year, having offseason surgery on his left knee and 18-20 ounces of blood drained from his right elbow due to bursitis.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Detroit Pistons star forward Blake Griffin is still day-to-day heading into the postseason, coach Dwane Casey said Friday.

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.

The NBA playoffs start Saturday, but Detroit opens its series against the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks 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 played 75 games this season, his most since 2013-14, when he was with the LA 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.

With the firing of Luke Walton on Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers have two different jobs to fill -- but only one head-coaching position available.

The first responsibility: get a buy-in from LeBron James in the final years of his prolific career. James' presence on the roster is a blessing to any coach, but it also complicates the job. LeBron has an extremely high threshold for credibility, and a coach must have it upon arrival and fortify it constantly to maintain James' respect.

But if the Lakers enter the 2019-20 season as a team for which Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart and a lottery pick fulfill crucial functions on the floor, the second task at hand is another thing entirely. These are young players still adjusting to the NBA game. Even if the Lakers reel in an additional max player, their development likely will be essential to the Lakers' future.

Managing a 17-year generational superstar and full-scale player development program are two very different projects, and finding someone who can capably serve two masters -- LeBron and youth -- is a difficult undertaking. There's a reason James has historically preferred to be surrounded by veterans: Focusing on basic education is a drag when you see the game with LeBron's perception.

Conversations with league insiders reveal several candidates for both gigs. But the pair of job descriptions diverge so profoundly that it's hard to identify coaches who have it all -- an ability to relate to James, a passion for player development, and a pedigree that would satisfy both LeBron and management. Whom the Lakers target will say a lot about the order of those priorities as they move forward.

This franchise stands at a historic rock bottom -- no team has lost more over the past six seasons. The next head coach, who will be the Lakers' fourth in a little more than five years, will assume the spotlight with one imperative: Make it stop.

Tyronn Lue

If the Lakers know that next season's roster will be composed much like James' Miami Heat teams and those of his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lue emerges as a logical top candidate. According to a report by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, he is a front-runner for the job. The former Cavs coach won a championship with James in 2016 over a 73-win Warriors team, an incontrovertible achievement that James honors. Coming up as an NBA assistant, Lue earned his bones as a tactician, first and foremost. Whether he's drawing up sets out of timeouts, or installing counters on the fly in crucial postseason games, Lue's high-IQ basketball brain speaks to James. Lue also is willing to challenge James in front of the team at selective moments if, say, James insists on a strategy that runs counter to Lue's preferred gameplan.

While he's a fit for a well-seasoned group of vets led by LeBron, Lue isn't a builder of cultures, nor is he an innate teacher who will verse 22-year-olds in the study of NBA basketball. Some of those who admire him believe that, at his next stop, Lue will need to build and manage a coaching staff with greater intention than he did in Cleveland. Doing so will help him grow into a more process-oriented head coach, developing a quality that, while always important, is vital with a roster of different ages and constituencies.

Jason Kidd | Mark Jackson

There exists a popular perception around the league that James values former players who are more inclined to provide support and act as a sounding board than establish their own structure. The thinking goes that "coaching LeBron" means coaching around LeBron, or deferring to him.

LeBron undoubtedly wants a coach whose basketball knowledge he respects, and that basketball knowledge will be best demonstrated by installing an offensive system whose defining feature is LeBron's intuition with the ball in his hand. Both Kidd (a Hall of Famer whom James admires) and Jackson are names that have circulated as potential successors to Walton since LeBron arrived in Los Angeles.

One conventional belief from those familiar with the LeBron-coach dynamic holds that the Lakers would be wise to choose a name with LeBron's imprimatur because the pressure would be on LeBron to make the relationship work. The counterargument says that these are exactly the kinds of political considerations that will further doom an organization that seems to value names and intrigue more than expertise and process.

Doc Rivers

When asked for an ideal candidate, multiple NBA insiders -- including executives, coaches and a high-profile active player -- recommended the LA Clippers' head coach. His name circulated so widely in NBA circles that he had to publicly temper rumors a few weeks ago.

Those who named Rivers, who is under contract with the Clippers, noted he'd have James' immediate respect at the outset -- for a championship, for his Xs & Os (which routinely gave LeBron teams fits in their East clashes), and also for his performance leading a transient Clippers team through two seasons in flux and to an improbable playoff berth.

Monty Williams

Williams, who currently serves on Brett Brown's staff with the Philadelphia 76ers, has a strong reputation for character and five years of experience in the first chair with the New Orleans Pelicans. He is also a central candidate for the job, according to Wojnarowski's report.

Williams is a coach with a penchant for structure and a gift for communicating with players, from transcendent superstars to 15th men. He's a serious person with whom LeBron James can have a serious conversations, when the need arises.

The Lakers' coaching search must take into account an inconvenient reality: James will turn 35 this December and now plays in an unforgiving Western Conference. Any notion that the job demands little more than a steady hand to manage LeBron's workload and expectations is dangerous. If the Lakers aspire to a strong playoff seeding, they can't waste a month or two not building good habits. They can't phone it in defensively, or wing it in the half court with LeBron as a last resort. In short, the Lakers' next head coach will have to emphasize detail at a much greater level than LeBron, a basketball savant, prefers. It's the only way to ensure his teammates, old and young, can compensate for the higher degree of difficulty.

If the Lakers still have to rely on the maturation of the young core in 2020, they will need a coach who excels at player development in addition to LeBron account management. Given what's at stake, it would be ill-advised for the Lakers to hire a head coach for the one player on the team who doesn't require hands-on coaching while ignoring those whose growth will determine the team's fate, even if that one player is LeBron James.

Are there head-coaching candidates who can split the difference for the Lakers -- establish credibility and authority with LeBron and simultaneously create an environment where young players can grow?

Darvin Ham

An apt place to start would be the staff of Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer. In recent years, Budenholzer has cultivated a program that's development-heavy, yet one that's efficient, individually tailored and not at all tedious -- a big plus for vets. Both Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder and Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson have graduated from Budenholzer's branch of Spurs U.

Ham, a lead assistant on Budenholzer's current Bucks staff, is an interesting case study. He brings a balance of skills, having served under Budenholzer for six seasons and mastered the day-to-day structure that brings out the best in teams like the league-leading Bucks. He would assemble a smart staff of skilled tacticians and communicators and run a tight ship -- but one without busywork. Though Ham didn't have the career of a Kidd or Jackson, he has established a reputation in recent years as an assistant with an exceptional bedside manner, someone who can speak tough truths to players, irrespective of their standing.

If the goal is to create a world where James feels his needs are being met and where Kyle Kuzma is learning how to play a consistent brand of NBA defense, Ham might represent that middle ground. He has the temperament and presence to inspire and challenge both men. He has also previously worked for the Lakers as an assistant coach for two seasons.

Juwan Howard

Like Ham, Howard hails from one of the most respected benches in the league -- Erik Spoelstra's coaching staff in Miami. For six seasons, Howard has aided in player development and evolved into one of the most reliable members of the tight-knit Heat family.

There isn't a more disciplined organization in the NBA, and Spoelstra is a process junkie. Those in Miami say Howard's gravitas as a coach, already present on Day 1, has only grown over time. He has developed a passion for the craft and has honed his tactical knowledge. Is Howard the basketball brainiac LeBron demands? It's hard to say, but the sense from those who know is that, provided he takes the task of staffing his bench seriously, he'd be afforded the benefit of the doubt.

Ime Udoka

There might not be a figure in basketball who commands more of James' respect than Gregg Popovich. What if the Spurs coach called James to tell him Udoka, a San Antonio assistant coach, is the right man for the job?

Udoka, an NBA journeyman like Ham, has honed his skills and reputation for seven years on the Spurs' bench, where he serves as the connective tissue between the staff and players, both veterans and projects. Udoka is a worker bee whose poise and measured nature would breathe a fresh ethic into an insular Lakers franchise that's been run by organizational courtiers for too long.

Jarron Collins

Those who have worked with James say that basketball intellect is the ultimate prerequisite for the job, and that's an area in which Collins excels in Golden State. One of the brightest young basketball minds in the league's assistant ranks, Collins shined in his first head-coaching interview last summer for the Atlanta Hawks job. James could be confident that when Collins draws up a play out of a timeout or calls for a coverage scheme, it's a well-conceived idea.

The former reserve big man is generally mild-mannered, not unlike Walton -- more Brad Stevens in demeanor than Gregg Popovich. Is that an asset or detriment for a role in the brightest of spotlights?

Mike Krzyzewski

Anyone who has ever spent a moment of their life in the craft has at some point contemplated what it would be like to coach a talent like LeBron James for a team with the prestige of the Los Angeles Lakers. As awfully as the organization has performed in recent years, a call from the Lakers would still warrant attention, even if the recipient of that call were Krzyzewski.

A pitch from the Lakers (and possibly LeBron) to the Duke coach could sound something like this: The NCAA is about to implode. Now is the time to enshrine your legacy, and name your successor who can grapple with these new realities so that you don't have to. Come to Los Angeles, where you can vest into a share of the most valuable franchise in basketball and coach the generation's best player in his golden years.

It's hard to conceive of James undermining Krzyzewski, the man James has said he'd like to coach his son. James and Krzyzewski would be tethered together in a common pursuit -- the belief that greatness, when compounded by experience, has no expiration date. There's little evidence Krzyzewski has any interest in moving to the NBA at age 72, but this is precisely the kind of narrative the Lakers love to spool.

The more likely scenario is that the Lakers are presented with no perfect options. Apart from James, the composition of their roster is uncertain. There are assistant, G League and college coaches who thrive in player development and would coach up James' teammates, but can they match wits with LeBron, who can recall from memory every play of every opponent in the league? There are coaches who can play horse whisperer to LeBron, but the job of winning with him requires far more than that now, and it's unclear how amenable James will be to a hands-on approach.

Whichever path they pursue, the Lakers should resist the urge to treat their hire like a product that needs to be sold. If the right coach happens to be a big name, then so be it. If it happens to be a member of the Lakers family in good standing, that's fine, too. But too often of late, the Lakers have viewed the task of team-building as an exercise in brand management, an opportunity to win a press conference or fan sentiment, rather than a statement of intent. They have the power to change that.

LOS ANGELES -- A tumultuous week continued for the Los Angeles Lakers as the team announced that it has mutually parted ways with head coach Luke Walton on Friday.

This comes just four days after Magic Johnson left the franchise reeling by shockingly deciding to step down as president of basketball operations on Tuesday night. Walton finished his third season as head coach with a frustrating and disappointing 37-45 record in a season that began with massive expectations following LeBron James' arrival. Walton leaves the team with two years remaining on his five-year deal.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Ty Lue is a strong frontrunner to replace Walton and that Philadelphia 76ers assistant Monty Williams joins Lue as the central candidates in the Lakers search, according to league sources.

"We would like to thank Luke for his dedicated service over the last three years," said Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka in a team statement. "We wish Luke and his family the best of luck moving forward."

Walton, who went 98-148 in his three seasons as head coach, thanked the franchise and controlling owner Jeanie Buss, who was a staunch supporter of Walton.

"I want to thank Jeanie Buss and the Buss family for giving me the opportunity to coach the Lakers," said Walton. "This franchise and the city will always be special to me and my family."

The Lakers had some cursory discussions with Walton's representatives on Wednesday in which both sides discussed if there was a way forward, multiple sources told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. The conversations didn't go very far, however, as it was obvious the Lakers had planned to fire Walton before Johnson abruptly stepped down on Tuesday night.

When James and his agent Rich Paul met with Johnson and Pelinka last Saturday, sources told Shelburne it was considered an exit interview and Walton was not present.

Walton's job security had been something many executives, coaches and agents speculated about since the start of the season not only because the Lakers had the makings of a flawed roster but also that Walton wasn't hired by Johnson and Pelinka. Walton was hired in 2016 by then Lakers executive vice president Jim Buss and then general manager Mitch Kupchak.

In his decision to step down, Johnson explained that he was considering firing Walton on Wednesday when the Lakers held their exit interviews but did not want to "disappoint" Buss and get in the way of her relationship with Walton and in the process hurt his own relationship with Buss.

Charged with trying to blend a roster constructed with eclectic veterans on one-year contracts and a core group of young prospects still learning how to play all around James with a plethora of ballhandlers but not enough shooting, Walton had what many felt was the most daunting job in the NBA.

While Johnson preached patience in the preseason knowing that it would take time for the new roster to mesh, Johnson admonished Walton in a meeting just six games into the season. The Hall of Fame point guard was upset with the team's defense and sluggish start but later told the Los Angeles Times and ESPN that Walton would not be fired barring something unforeseen. Johnson, though, said that his relationship with Walton was fine after the incident which he considered overblown.

Walton had the Lakers at 20-14 on Christmas night after a blowout win at Golden State and looking like they were on the verge of coming together. But the wheels came off in spectacular fashion when James and Rajon Rondo were injured during that game, sending the Lakers into a tailspin that they would never recover from.

Suspensions, injuries, never-ending drama, inexcusable losses to bottom-feeding teams and even a buffet of on-court gaffes -- enough to provide the internet with ammunition to come up with a "One Shining Moment" parody -- smothered the Lakers' season and ultimately doomed Walton.

Walton would lose Lonzo Ball (ankle) and Brandon Ingram (blood clot in shoulder) to season ending injuries as the Lakers had James, Ingram and Ball together for a total of only 23 games, going 15-8 during that span. The Lakers missed over 210 games due to injuries and used over 25 different starting lineups this season.

Now, for the fifth time since Phil Jackson last sat on the Lakers' bench in 2010-11, the Lakers will be looking for a new head coach to attempt to revive the proud franchise and take it to the postseason for the first time since 2012-13 season.