Los Angeles Lakers: 2018-19 NBA season preview

Storyline 2: Can Luke Walton keep everybody happy?

Luke Walton’s greatest challenge won’t be dialing up the perfect play out of a timeout or at the end of a game, but lies with his rotation. While it’s great they brought in a litany of veterans to help this team compete, all of them want to play big minutes, which may be unsettling to some of their young core.

The guard spots are where most of the intrigue lies with JaVale McGee locked in at the 5. Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart are the Lakers’ backcourt of the future, there’s no denying that. But the re-signing of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and adding Rajon Rondo to the mix could limit their minutes depending on game situations, which may lead to unrest and frustration with Lonzo and Hart.

Then there’s Lance Stephenson, who has impressed this offseason and is a gamer that can do multiple things on the court. I think these five players’ ability to play multiple positions will allow Walton to use them creatively, but if everybody doesn’t buy in, it could be an uneasy season for some players.

The mesh of personalities doesn’t seem to be a concern, especially with Rondo maturing and showing a willingness to teach players around him. Lance is going to Lance no matter what and JaVale succeeded in a culture that produced two NBA championships in Golden State. Managing the rotation and keeping everybody happy on a deep Lakers team will be something to monitor all season for Luke Walton.