Los Angeles Lakers: Luke Walton not making lineups to appease players

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton has taken a lot of heat for some of his rotations. Recently, Walton discussed his decision-making process.

With the Los Angeles Lakers struggling, some heat has come on Luke Walton for his strange rotations at times. As always, losing generally creates quite the stir when it comes to who is playing too much and who isn’t playing enough.

To start the season, Walton made a noticeable change in his starting lineup. With some new faces, Walton moved Randle to the bench. For his entire career, Randle has mostly been a starter for the Lakers. The decision to move him to the bench was certainly an eye-opener.

In addition to moving Randle to the bench, playing time for him has also been cut. Considering Randle is one of the most productive players on the Lakers this season, it has been a head-scratcher for many.

Recently, Walton talked with Harrison Faigen of LakersNation.com about his decision-making process when it comes to his rotations. Here’s what he had to say.

"“The guys know every decision I make might not always be right,” Walton conceded.“But every decision I make is, ‘What do I believe what is best for the team?’ It’s not about making guys happy.“Obviously, I put a big value on relationships with the players and I spend a lot of time trying to make sure that they know me and my staff care about them. Not just as basketball players but as people.”"

Being the head coach and making the tough calls is certainly not easy. Like the Lakers, Walton is still learning his craft as well. Since the Lakers do have some limitations with their current roster, making rotations hasn’t been easy for Walton.

As recently shown against the Los Angeles Clippers, Walton threw together a shocking starting five that didn’t have a point guard in the lineup. This might have been a clear indication of frustration for Walton, as the Lakers have had an awful month in December.

While the injuries of late have surely played a part in the rotations, this issue stems back to the beginning of the season with the Randle situation. However, Randle did finally get a start in his last game and performed well.

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Walton has made it very clear that he is not looking to appease players, but that he is trying to do what he believes is best for the team. Even though players might not agree with Walton on certain things, he does appear to have their respect.