After starting in 117 of the first 138 games of his career through two seasons, Clarkson was expected to man the shooting guard spot for the top unit to open 2016-17, but first-year coach Luke Walton had other ideas. In an effort to stagger his backcourt scoring a little more, Walton went with Nick Young as his starter for much of last season, with Clarkson instead settling in as the team’s sixth or seventh man. The demotion to the bench came with a slight decline in minutes, but since he often acted as the primary option for the second unit, Clarkson’s overall production -- he averaged 14.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 treys per game -- didn’t change much from the year before. While Clarkson’s raw numbers were useful enough in most fantasy leagues, the Lakers were surely counting on more efficiency from the 25-year-old, who shot a meager 32.9 percent from distance and saw his assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3) decline for a second straight year. The lack of progress in those areas combined with poor defense on the perimeter may have prompted the organization to scale back their long-term expectations for Clarkson, who had signed a four-year, $50 million extension prior to last summer. With the Lakers inking a true three-and-D wing in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a one-year deal in July to replace Young and slot into the starting backcourt alongside the No. 2 overall pick, point guard Lonzo Ball, it looks like Clarkson will be primed for another year as the team’s go-to scorer off the bench. Clarkson will likely act as the top backup at either guard spot, but because Ball and Caldwell-Pope should be in store for nearly 30 minutes or more per game, Clarkson seems unlikely to see his role expand much.