It's been a whirlwind of a season so far for the Los Angeles Lakers, and Luke Walton has remained at the helm through thick and thin. He has the benefit of having the best player on the planet, in terms of basketball, with LeBron James, as well as a number of emerging young stars on the roster. However, recent trade talk surrounding Anthony Davis and the team's struggles to win recently could have him on the hot seat. The team has yet to bring in another major star to help out, and unfortunately, that may not bode well for Walton.

Walton's track record with L.A.

Luke Walton played in the league from 2004 through 2013 and had stints with the Lakers and Cavaliers. However, since the 2016-17 season, he's been guiding the Los Angeles Lakers as head coach. He's been in charge of the team for several seasons ahead of the arrival of LeBron James. With a superstar of LeBron's stature now on the roster, results are expected quickly. The team was on an upward trajectory before LeBron's groin injury. His return is promising, but in the wake of trade headlines, the team dropped two losses by differences of 20 and 42 points.

Through his time as Lakers head coach, the team has improved, so to speak. In his first season, they went 26-56 and finished fourth.

In the next season, it was a 35-47 improvement thanks to the addition of rookie talents Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma. That had them in third place.

This season, the Los Angeles Lakers are 28-28 through 56 games, with an away matchup against the Atlanta Hawks on the schedule for Tuesday (February 12). Just the fact that LeBron is on the roster seems to nearly guarantee an improvement over last season, but a playoff run is imperative.

If the team starts to falter after All-Star break and doesn't crack the postseason, Walton is probably out.

Possible replacement for Walton

Betting odds exist for many items in professional sports, including future events. There are betting odds about who will win NBA MVP, which team will win the NBA Championship and even odds on who will win the different All-Star Saturday Night contests.

There are also odds for who could be the Lakers' head coach come the 2019-20 NBA season.

Walton is still among the top three potential candidates, and that's probably based on the fact this team could still get into the NBA playoffs. They're right on the cusp right now, sitting at No. 10 in the Western Conference and two games behind the Sacramento Kings for that eighth spot.

The candidates for the job are quite interesting with Jason Kidd leading the way. He's someone LeBron has played against, making it an interesting choice.

Mark Jackson is known for his great commentary work as he's been on plenty of the calls for LeBron's games.

Jackson also did a good job in Golden State ahead of Steve Kerr's arrival. Two choices that stand out are longshots with Phil Jackson at +1500 and Lavar Ball at +50000. Risk takers should go for that biggest longshot, but it's hard to fathom that Lonzo's dad would ever get his hands on that responsibility.

That said, there's still a bit over 40 games left in the season for Walton's Lakers to impress by making the playoffs and winning a few games or a series. That could be enough to keep him in his job.
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