EL SEGUNDO — Dalton Knecht. Bronny James.
That’s it for changes to this season’s Los Angeles Lakers roster, two rookies who may not be part of the regular rotation (Knecht has a chance if he shoots 3s like the Lakers hope and shows he can do more than just that). Essentially, the Lakers are running it back with a roster that won 47 games last season, landed In the play-in, then got unceremoniously bounced in the first round by Denver.
The Lakers are banking on one other change: J.J. Redick as coach.
Lakers management has bet big that Redick — a first-time coach at any professional or college level — is the key to both unlocking this roster and getting the Lakers back to the top of the West, and also building something sustainable to carry them past whenever LeBron James decides to hang up his Nikes.
It’s a huge ask.
Is J.J. Redick up to the task?
WHAT IS DIFFERENT UNDER REDICK?
Former coach Darvin Ham’s name was not mentioned at Lakers media day, but plenty of shade was quietly thrown his way. It came out in the way players praised Redick’s attention to detail.
D’Angelo Russell said he felt like the team was “winging it” last summer but there was far more structure this year.
“I’m not one to compare but it’s been really detail-oriented so far,” Cam Reddish said.
That’s great for summer workouts, but what should Lakers fans expect when the games start?
Far more 3-pointers. It shouldn’t be shocking that one of the best pure shooters of a generation wants his team to launch more 3s. It’s also the right tactical move — Joe Mazzula’s Celtics launched three more 3-pointers a game than any team in the league last season (a league-high 47.1% of their shots), and while it’s not the only reason they had the best offense in the NBA last season it’s part of it.
The Lakers were second-to-last in the league in the percentage of shots taken from 3 (35.8%). If there is one thing players said Redick has preached, it’s taking more 3s.
“Even the Olympics when I [made] a 3, he’d text me ‘That’s what I wanna see,’ things like that,” Lakers center Anthony Davis said. “So for him, it’s definitely gonna be just shooting more threes.”
The Lakers shot 37.7% from 3 last season (eighth best in the league), they have the shooters, those guys just need to take the shots.
More motion in the offense. Redick doesn’t want LeBron James — or D’Angelo Russell, or Austin Reaves — pounding the ball out above the top of the key, calling up a big for a pick and running basic pick-and-roll sets all game. He wants much more movement off the ball, including from 39-year-old LeBron.
More shot creation from people other than LeBron. A lot is being asked of LeBron as a tone setter and primary shot creator — something he showed in the Paris Olympics he is still capable of doing at the highest of levels. But it’s one thing to do that playing 25 minutes a night across five games with almost no travel, it’s another to do it over the marathon of of the 82-game NBA season.
Redick is looking for other players to step up and create more shot attempts — LeBron isn’t always going to bring the ball up and initiate the offense or just run a pick-and-roll. The offense will run through Anthony Davis more, while players like Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell will get more playmaking responsibilities. Whether they are up for it leads to the other topic about this team.
IS THE LAKERS ROSTER GOOD ENOUGH?
Talent wins in the NBA. Flat out.
It’s fair to ask if the Lakers have near enough to win more than they did a season ago, or near the level they expect? If not, will it matter much what Redick does because how far he can take this team could be limited by what the front office didn’t do this offseason?
Of course, as training camp opens and optimism reigns around the league, the Lakers don’t see it that way.
“We have a lot of confidence in these 15 players,” Laker GM Rob Pelinka said. “I think the inverse of change or overhaul is continuity, and I think continuity can be highly successful in sports. This is a core group that did make it to the Western Conference Finals [in 2023]. We didn’t have Gabe Vincent or [Jarred Vanderbilt] last year for whole seasons. If you add two players like that, there’s a Delta there. I think there’s going to be internal growth.”
Health was a big topic through the Lakers media day and how they were cut off at the knees by a lack of it a year ago.
It’s true the Lakers were without key role players for much of last season, and reserve center Christian Wood is out to start this season following knee surgery. However, the Lakers also got 147 games out of Davis and LeBron, not a given considering their age and injury history (the pair played 108 games the previous season, but were healthy for the playoffs and the Lakers made a run to the Western Conference Finals under the fired Darvin Ham.
“I think if we’re healthy and we’re able to stay healthy throughout the entire season, we could be a top team in the West,” Davis said.” The stuff that we able to do on both ends of the floor, and then you add in Gabe and Vando and C Wood, I think that helps. But if we, if we get hit by the injury bug again, then it’s gonna be tough.”
FANTASY IMPACT OF REDICK
From Noah Rubin of NBC Sports:
Most teams that are looking to contend with aging stars aren’t going to bring in a first year head coach, especially one that was never an assistant coach. The Nets tried it with Steve Nash, and that was a disaster. However, Redick appears to be up to the task.
He has already revealed his starting lineup, which will feature D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He has also talked about Dalton Knecht being an elite shooter, and what coach would be better to maximize the Lakers’ first-round pick than one of the best movement shooters in NBA history?
They’re running things back with mostly the same roster after winning 47 games last season. However, Rob Pelinka did indicate that they will be open to moving their future first round picks if it will help them acquire “sustained Lakers excellence”. What does that look like? It’s unclear, but it seems they’re open to doing business, which may not happen until the trade deadline.
This team is capable of winning 50 games (just three more than last year), but a lot of that will fall on Redick’s shoulders. There won’t be a coaching situation that is more closely monitored by fans and media this season. Everyone will be watching to see if the former podcaster can make the leap to leading an NBA franchise.
