Lakers' troubling challenge revealed by ex-NBA player

The Los Angeles Lakers are 16-12 this season as of this story's writing. The team has endured ups and downs throughout the campaign, but a recent stretch of impressive play has LA's record sitting at a respectable mark for now. However, former player Lou Williams recently revealed a potential problem for the Lakers during the latest episode of FanDuel's Run It Back.

"This is not a deep basketball team, but they do have good pieces," Williams said. "The Lakers, they haven't been known for developing talent. A lot of these guys are learning on the fly. Dalton Knecht, he's gonna have to learn on the fly. Austin Reaves, he's learning on the fly. These are still very young guys, Max Christie. These are young guys, early on in their careers, they are gonna have to learn on the fly. "

Williams believes that the Lakers' younger players will need to "learn on the fly" moving forward. He is not confident that the Lakers will take a significant amount of time to truly "teach" players such as Knecht and Christie.

"The Lakers aren't gonna stop and try to teach and bring these guys along," Williams continued. "They're gonna have to figure it out while their season is going along. I think that's some of their inconsistency issues with just having young guys figure it out on the fly with this team."

The Lakers want to win now. With LeBron James nearing 40 years old, LA has serious playoff aspirations at the moment. They cannot sit back and necessarily build for the long-term future, as LeBron surely wants to compete for another championship before he retires.

However, does Williams make a valid point? Is there reason for concern with LA's young players?

Lakers should take a close look at the future

It goes without saying, but the Lakers are still taking the long-term future into consideration. They understand that LeBron isn't going to play for forever. LA is hopeful that guys such as Knecht and Christie can develop into impactful players in the NBA. Reaves, who Williams mentioned as well, is already playing at a respectable level alongside LeBron and Anthony Davis.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick is certainly thinking about the future. He wants to build a quality coaching career in LA, meaning he needs to figure out how to win now while developing a roster that can compete for years to come.

With all of that being said, Williams may still have a point. Perhaps the Lakers should put more time into helping young players grow and develop. It is something that could prove to be important down the road.