NBA coach Walton sued for sexual assault of woman reporter: report

LOS ANGELES - NBA head coach Luke Walton is being sued by a woman who alleges he forced himself on her at a Santa Monica, California hotel, according to US media reports Monday.

Celebrity news outlet TMZ reported Walton had invited the woman, a sports reporter, to meet him at his hotel to discuss a book she was writing.

Citing court documents, it said the woman alleged Walton, with whom she had a previous business relationship, convinced her to go to his room and forced himself on her.

There, according to the lawsuit, he allegedly pinned her to the bed, kissed and groped her while she resisted, TMZ said.

It added the lawsuit says he eventually stopped and let her go but, as she walked away, grabbed her from behind and pulled her close -- before eventually allowing her to leave.

TMZ reported the incident took place before Walton became head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Now coach of the Sacramento Kings, Walton was let go by the Lakers last week after coaching them for several seasons.

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NBA: Kings reach deal to hire Walton as coach - report

Luke Walton and the Kings have agreed to a multi-year contract to make him Sacramento's next coach, The Athletic reported.

Walton met with Kings general manager Vlade Divac on Saturday, and The Athletic's Sam Amick reported the two had reached agreement on a deal that is expected to run through the 2022-23 season.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said an official announcement could come this weekend.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Walton, 39, parted ways on Friday.

Walton compiled a 98-148 record in three seasons as the Lakers' head coach. Los Angeles missed the playoffs in all three campaigns.

Since Rick Adelman left Sacramento in 2006 after eight seasons, the Kings have had nine head coaches.

The most recent was Dave Joerger, who was fired on Thursday.

Joerger led the Kings to a 39-43 record this season, good for ninth place in the NBA's Western Conference. It was their best record since 2005-06 -- the last time they qualified for the playoffs.

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Walton surprised to hear Kobe rate Oscar above championships

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton isn't ready to believe that Kobe Bryant's Oscar means more to the Lakers legend than his five NBA titles.

"He said that? With a straight face?" ‬Walton said Monday when quizzed by reporters about Bryant's comments. "I didn't see it but I would imagine there was some sarcasm in there. But hey, I don't know. That's his call."

Bryant, 39, won the Academy Award for best animated short Sunday for "Dear Basketball," a collaboration with artist Glen Keane and legendary composer John Williams.

"It feels better than winning a championship, to be honest," Bryant told reporters backstage after collecting his statuette.

"As a kid, I grew up dreaming of winning a championship, but to have something like this coming out of left field... people asked, 'What do you want to do when you retire?' and I said, 'writer.'

"And they were like, 'That's cute,'" Bryant said. "But to be here right now, to have a sense of validation -- it's crazy, man."

Bryant was already a Los Angeles icon, but in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal, his honor created some consternation from those who remembered his arrest over the suspected rape of a 19-year-old hotel worker in Colorado in 2003.

Bryant admitted to a sexual encounter, but insisted it was consensual. The criminal case was dropped when the accuser refused to testify, but Bryant faced a civil suit that was settled out of court with no admission of guilt from the NBA star.

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LaVar Ball: Lakers 'don't want to play for' Walton

LaVar Ball, the father of Los Angeles Lakers rookie point guard Lonzo Ball, says the players "don't want to play for" head coach Luke Walton.

Ball was up at 5 a.m. local time in Birstonas, Lithuania, on Saturday to watch Lonzo play in his first game back with the Lakers since suffering a sprained shoulder on Dec. 23.

LaVar Ball, who is staying in Birstonas while youngest sons LiAngelo and LaMelo get ready to make their professional debuts with Lithuanian team Prienu Vytautas, told ESPN's Jeff Goodman that the 37-year-old Walton has lost the team.

"You can see they're not playing for Luke no more," Ball told ESPN. "Luke doesn't have control of the team no more. They don't want to play for him."


Lonzo Ball, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, finished with 11 points and five assists in 27 minutes in the Lakers' 108-94 loss to Charlotte. The Lakers (11-27) have lost nine straight games.

"That's a good team," LaVar Ball told ESPN. "Nobody wants to play for him (Walton). I can see it. No high-fives when they come out of the game. People don't know why they're in the game. He's too young. He's too young. ... He ain't connecting with them anymore. You can look at every player, he's not connecting with not one player."

Both Walton and Lonzo Ball responded Sunday, saying the Lakers' head coach has not lost the locker room during the losing streak.

When asked whether he is fine with Walton as his head coach, Lonzo Ball said, "I'll play for anybody."

"He's a grown man," Ball said of his father's comments following the Lakers' shootaround at Staples Center. "Like I said, he is going to say what he wants to say. I can't (do) nothing about it."

When asked about having a preference for playing for certain coaches, the rookie said "my job is to play basketball. I don't decide who coaches."

Walton was asked if he has received assurances from anyone in Lakers' management about whether his job is on the line.

"Yeah. We're, I feel very secure in my job status right now," Walton said. "We talk all the time. They're 100 percent behind and supporting what we're doing.

"I don't see that the players aren't playing hard. I think the players are playing very hard, we've been through a hard stretch, but they are giving us what they have and we're going to keep working and we'll be fine."

Meanwhile, LaVar Ball said he is confident that Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James will be coming to the Lakers this offseason as a free agent.

"LeBron's coming to L.A. I know he's coming to L.A.," Ball, the creator of Big Baller Brand, told ESPN. "LeBron is not a fool. What's the only way he can beat (Michael) Jordan? You can't get more championships. Only one way, to say every team I've gone to I've won a championship. Go to Lakers and win a championship, then you're better than Jordan.

"You can't give my son the best player in the league, and don't expect them not to win. Get rid of everybody. Give him LeBron and Gelo (LiAngelo Ball). You got a 2 and a 3. And it's a win. It's a wrap."

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Warriors fret on Curry's fitness

Reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry could be headed for an absence due to a left leg injury, Golden State Warriors interim coach Luke Walton said on Tuesday.

Curry, who played through a right calf injury during a Christmas Day game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, did not practise on Tuesday because of his ailment.

He is listed as questionable for Wednesday's game against the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State are set to take on Houston Rockets on Thursday.


"There's a chance that he won't play in one or both," Walton told the San Jose Mercury News.

"That's probably going to be a game-time decision or at least determined on how he's feeling tomorrow."

After a breakout MVP campaign last season, Curry has ascended to even greater heights this time and leads the league in scoring with 30.5 points per game.

Champions Warriors (29-1) are off to the best start in NBA history but after steering clear of major injuries a season ago their health is now being tested.

Starting forward Harrison Barnes has been out for the past 13 games, shooting guard Klay Thompson missed a contest earlier this season and coach Steve Kerr (back surgeries) has yet to take the sideline.

Now Golden State's ultimate catalyst, Curry, is in question.

"He hasn't said anything except for he wants to play," Walton said.

"Even (Monday) in the game when I saw him in the game limping, and I tried to take him out, he gave the wave-off and said that it was fine."

(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)

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Warriors remain unbeaten with win over Rockets

Beyond the result, perhaps what pleased Warriors interim coach Luke Walton most on Friday was his ability to evenly distribute minutes in advance of a quick turnaround to New Orleans and the first back-to-back this season.

Warriors point guard Stephen Curry scored 25 points in 27 minutes as the Golden State Warriors continued their dominance of the Houston Rockets with a 112-92 victory at Toyota Center.

The Warriors (2-0) claimed their sixth consecutive regular-season win in Houston and improved to 10-1 in their last 11 meetings with the Rockets (0-2).

With the Warriors leading by as many as 25 points, Curry casually engineered the offensive attack, adding seven rebounds and six assists despite accumulating four fouls in a rematch of the 2015 Western Conference Finals won in five games by Golden State.

Four additional Warriors scored in double figures and forward Draymond Green was the only starter to log more than 30 minutes. Golden State cruised on the strength of their defense, doing so without starting center Andrew Bogut (concussion). The Rockets shot just 36.6 percent and committed 17 turnovers.

"Any chance we have to use our depth, we're going to," Walton said. "We didn't have to run anyone into the ground tonight."



The Rockets were especially abysmal in the second quarter, posting more turnovers (six) than field goals (five).

Houston were 5-for-22 from the field in the period as Golden State turned a 13-0 run into a 53-37 lead when Curry followed his three-pointer with a finger roll with 3:49 left.

Rockets guard James Harden (16 points) continued his early-season shooting woes, missing 14 of 18 from the field, including 9 of 10 three-ponters.

Dwight Howard, making his debut after missing the opener because of a suspension, had nine points (on 4-of-11 shooting), seven boards and five fouls. The Rockets finished 5-for-23 from behind the three-point line and appear woefully out of sync, especially on offense.

"We've got to get a rhythm," Harden said. "The Warriors have a really good rhythm carrying over from last year, that's why everything is flowing and looks so easy out there. We've got to catch that, and we will."

"Our offense is really stagnant," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "We made too many mistakes defensively again. We're not making plays for each other at the rate we need to make." (Compiled by Peter Rutherford)

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