Luke Walton Out as Lakers Head Coach

The Luke Walton era in Los Angeles is over -- he's out as the Lakers head coach ... but both sides are saying it was a "mutual" decision.

So, not fired???

"We would like to thank Luke for his dedicated service over the last three years," Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement.

“We wish Luke and his family the best of luck moving forward.”

Walton also issued a statement saying, "I want to thank Jeanie Buss and the Buss family for giving me the opportunity to coach the Lakers."

"This franchise and the city will always be special to me and my family.”

The Lakers were 98-148 under Walton -- who was hired in April 2016. This season, after adding LeBron James, the Lakers finished with an abysmal 37-45 ... 10th place in the Western Conference.

Back in February, we spoke with Luke about the situation with the Lakers and he told us he LOVED being the head coach.

So, who's next for L.A.? There are reports Ty Lue could take over -- reuniting LeBron James with his old coach from the Cleveland Cavaliers.

There are also rumblings Luke is the frontrunner to be the next head coach of the Sacramento Kings, which just fired their head coach Thursday.

It's been a wild week for the Lakers -- with Magic Johnson surprisingly stepping down as the President of Basketball Operations on Tuesday ... minutes before the Lakers played their final game of the season.

Magic insisted he just wasn't happy in the role -- and wanted to be free to tweet about NBA topics and players without being fined by the league.

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss says the team is actively looking for Magic's replacement.