Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton and his coaching staff are currently evaluating the team's players leading up to the regular-season opener against the L.A. Clippers on Oct. 19. One of the many players under the microscope in Los Angeles right now is Jordan Clarkson.

Although Clarkson has been a solid contributor for the Lakers as a second-round steal back in 2014, he has gone from starter to sixth man with no telling what the long-term future holds for the 25-year-old. Clarkson's scoring ability has been his strong suit thus far, but his defense has been a glaring weakness.

Walton, however, has liked the effort he's seen from Clarkson during training camp and preseason. The second-year head coach talked about Clarkson's performance thus far after Wednesday's loss to the Utah Jazz.

“I think Jordan has given the effort,” Walton said. “He’s doing what we’re asking him, but he’s one those players that’s just a natural scorer. He can get hot at any time, and we’re asking him to play within this system and to make the extra passes. He’s trying his best, but because of that, he’s had sometimes that he’s looked a little sloppy out there. But his attitude has been great. His effort coming in every day at practice, he’s been great.”

Walton also praised Clarkson's effort and improvement on the defensive end of the floor.

“He is,” Walton said of Clarkson. “He definitely is. He was on the help side a couple of times tonight. He got a nice steal when he was over there and anticipated the pass coming. He put on muscle this offseason. I think he struggled a little bit last year with guarding players that were bigger than him, so he’s stronger this year. He seems to care more about the defensive end too this year which is nice.”

At this point, Clarkson's days as a starter in Los Angeles appear to be over with newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pope expected to be the team's starting shooting guard come Oct. 19. Clarkson will have to embrace the role as the Lakers' sixth man in the same way Lou Williams did when he joined the team in 2015.

If Clarkson can continue to produce offensively in Walton's system while also showing improvement defensively, he may play a significant role for the Lakers this season. If not, his name may begin to surface in trade rumors as the season progresses.