When LeBron James joined the Miami Heat in 2010 and returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, both teams experienced teething problems in their early stages but eventually became successful. 

Therefore, the same can be expected with the Los Angeles Lakers as they're putting together almost a brand new team this season. 

As well as James, the team signed Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Michael Beasley. 

They will need time to get used to each other and also find a fit alongside the young Lakers core of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart.

Pressure is on

The task of bringing them all together and finding the right system to get the best out of them will belong to head coach Luke Walton. 

This will only be Walton's third season as Lakers coach but he's likely to face huge pressure. 

However, he'll be happy to know that he has the support of president Magic Johnson who has told him that getting off to a bad start won't be a big problem as he understands it'll take time for the players to gel. 

"As I was talking to Luke [with GM Rob Pelinka], we said don't worry about if we get out to a bad start," Johnson said, per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.

"We have seen that with LeBron [James] going to Miami, and we have seen that when he came back to Cleveland.

"He is going to struggle because there are so many new moving parts. But eventually we are going to get it, and we are going to be really a good team."

These are reassuring words from the Hall of Famer and will make life slightly easier for Walton. 

The purple and gold have some tough games in the opening month of the campaign and could easily find themselves on the end of several defeats to start off with. 

Backing their man

L.A. has added some strong personalities to the roster which even an experienced coach may find tough to deal with, let alone a 38-year-old in Walton. 

But the franchise has complete confidence that he's the right man for the job. 

"I think Luke is perfectly positioned because he understands the modern player," said general manager Rob Pelinka.

"He's young, he's played at a high level, won championships, has a great way of communicating with people, has a genuine air and keeping guys engaged.

"We think our roster and its strengths actually lines up perfectly with our coach and his strengths."

The Lakers begin their training camp on Tuesday and tip off their 2018-19 campaign with a trip to the Portland Trail Blazers.

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