Lakers: 5 Storylines To Follow Heading Into Training Camp

How much does Luke Walton actually change the Lakers?

Even with tempered expectations for this young team, the fans might not take losses as kindly.

Lakers fans are the most spoiled fans in the NBA. 16 championships, 21 Hall of Famers and 20 years of Kobe Bean Bryant. What more could we possibly want?

Wins.

After four consecutive years missing the playoffs, fans are growing restless having to root for a team not wearing purple and gold (or gold and purple if you’re Ivica Zubac).

Playoff basketball seems like a reach for this young Lakers squad, especially with the departure of future face of the NBA Robert Sacre, but that won’t stop fans from dreaming.

and my favorite:

The Lakers are projected to improve from their woeful 17-win season to around 24.5 wins, according to Las Vegas oddsmaker SuperBook. 24.5 wins seems reasonable for the Lakers, considering most of the players on the roster aren’t even old enough to drink in Vegas – or anywhere – yet.

However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to play competitive basketball.

“Are we competing? Are we playing for each other? Are we selfless? Is the ball moving? If we feel like we’re playing with those intentions and that effort, that to me is a successful season,” he told Mark Medina of LA Daily News.

In other words, he’s saying all of the things a young coach with a rebuilding team should be saying, which is really easy to get behind when no one has played a game yet.

But when the losses start piling on – and they will – Walton will have to face the passionate, and often delusional, Lakers fanbase.

Remember how much everyone loved Byron Scott before the first game was played? Remember when Magic, Kareem and Jamaal Wilkes were confident that Scott was going to bring showtime back to Los Angeles?

Next: 3 Take Aways From Monday's Lakers' Media Day

While I do believe Walton will fair better than Scott, there’s a chance this season will look a lot like the past few seasons.