LeBron James has Jon Gray Jersey a history of wanting his guy in charge as thehead coach. how this works. had to deal with constant questions about his job security.James may have said all the right things coming into the 2018-19 season, acknowledging the Lakers wouldn't become a title contender overnight. But now it's getting pretty rocky in LA. And as we all know, you don't want to be around LeBron because that means changes are coming.NBA TRADE DEADLINE:With an Anthony Davis tradeoff the table, all eyes have turned toward Lakerscoach Luke Walton, who was hired two years ago by a management team thats no longer in charge.Walton has dealt with nothing but negativity as of late:James' groin injury, Davis-related drama, anda bad road lo s to the Hawks on Tuesday night which dropped the Lakers to a game under .500.And let's not forget ESPN's Jackie MacMullan reportedlast month thatJames camp . While Its important to note that James has not stated anything publicly about what he wants the Lakers to do (or not do), he probably shares similar feelings as the people in Mark Reynolds Jersey his camp.The Lakers simply dont have the roster right now to compete with the best teams the league has to offer. This season was seen as a building block for Los Angeles, giving the front office and coaching staffa chance to evaluate how the young players mesh withJames beforehe attempts to recruit other stars to play alongside him. But Walton may not last through Year 1 of the LeBron experience.Walton has come under fire since the beginning of the year. (Lakers president Magic Johnson after only eight games.) The Lakers' young core of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma hasbeen unable to make significant progre s. The Pelicans clearly aren't high on that group, choosingto keep Davis past the trade deadline and wait for a better package this summer.And yet, its hard to put the blamesquarely on Waltons shoulders.The roster constructionby Johnson Gerardo Parra Jersey and general manager Rob Pelinka last offseason wasquestionable to say the least. James has previously thrived whensurrounded by spot-up shooters, but theLakerssigned ball-dominant players likeRajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson andMichael Beasley.The Lakers currently ownthe fifth-worst 3-point percentage in the NBA (33.9) and a bottom-10 offensive rating (107.4).But evenwith developingyoung a sets and random vetseating up majorminutes, Walton has been able to piece together competitivelineups. Before James groin injury, the Lakers were 19-14 and held the fourth-best record in the league. The team was trending in a positive direction, and confidence was overflowing after ablowout win over the Warriors on Christmas Day.WATCH: During the 17-game stretch without James, the Lakers went6-11, tumblingout of the West playoff picture. They had the sixth-worst offensive rating in the league with James glued to the bench. (That happens when the entire offense is built around one player.)However, the Lakers' defense played well during James absence. They had the sixth-best defensive rating in January, and Walton deserves credit for consistently putting out strong defensive units.As the Lakers make their final push to earn a playoff berth Chris Rusin Jersey they are threegames back of the No. 8 seed with 25 games leftthe question remains whetherWalton will finish the year as head coach. reportedWednesday that Walton's job is . But what happens if the Lakers continue to struggle coming out of the All-Star break?Lakers owner Jeanie Bu s has , but she's also made it clear that she'll leave the inner workings of the franchise to Johnson. Walton is not a Johnson hire, and he's not LeBron's pick. The Lakers'record certainly won't protect Walton at this point.Still, Walton should be granted the same Todd Helton Jersey level of patience as James. Walton didn't puttogether a flawed roster. Walton didn't let Julius Randle walk or trade All-Star point guard D'Angelo Ru sell to the Nets. Walton didn't completely botch Davis trade talks and alienate the young players.Until the Lakers have a real plan in place, Walton should remain the person leading this team. If LeBron doesn't like it, he can take a tripover to Johnson's office. Hewas the one who has made all of thosehead-scratching decisions.