This NBA Draft could bring lots of opportunities for the Los Angeles Lakers, who once again have the No. 2 selection for the third straight year. Head coach Luke Walton is aware of the process of turning a young, talented team into a potential contender, but warned that despite the willingness for management to win now, there's more than just being able to trade for a superstar player.

“I joke a lot. I said ‘if there's a time to be rebuilding, this is the time to do it.’ The Warriors don't look like they're going anywhere for a while. They're pretty darn good right now,” Walton told Bleacher Report's The Full 48 podcast.

While much has been made of a Paul George arrival through trade or free agency, Walton is convinced that it would take much more than just that, given the stern competition in the Western Conference.

“Obviously there's players in this league that if you can get, it's really tough to say no to because the superstars in this league are good enough to make you a contender or not,” Walton said. “It's the difference between having a very good team with lots of role players or having a team that can actually, legitimately win an NBA championship.”

“My only caution would be let's not give up too much of our young core for one superstar because, like we just talked about before, let’s not forget that those Golden State Warriors are just a little bit north of us and it's going to take a lot more than one superstar to dethrone them from the West. There's that fine line in trying to get there quicker rather than developing our own guys. I think Rob (Pelinka) and Magic (Johnson) are very aware of that. They're constantly looking at the best way to get us to be a true contender, not just on paper.”

The Lakers are oozing with talent, with prospects like D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac, and Jordan Clarkson — but youth and talent without leadership doesn't really lead anywhere, making the team struggle for a sense of direction.

The interests of the team are surely divided from an ownership and fan base that want the sense of winning back within the organization and a front office/coaching staff that is gun-shy about risking it all to be just a second, third, or fourth-best in the West.