The banners above the practice court, the names of legends on the wall and, most important, the trophies in Jeanie Buss’ window in the Lakers’ practice facility tell the story of the team’s past.
As the organization nears the start of the 2024-25 season, general manager Rob Pelinka reiterated it.
Excellence is the standard that helped build the Lakers into one of the league’s best franchises, and it remains the goal, Pelinka said Wednesday. But inconsistencies around LeBron James since the team signed him have left the Lakers chasing sustainable success.
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“I think everyone in this building is cognizant of the fact that he’s almost 40,” first-year Lakers coach JJ Redick said of James, who has been back with the team training for the past two weeks after spending the summer leading the U.S. to an Olympic gold medal.
James’ presence and ability continue to mandate the Lakers be aggressive. His age and injury concerns for him and Anthony Davis require the team be more conservative in how they use their draft capital.
Pelinka set the trade rules he’s operating by when it comes to the team’s ability to trade its 2029 and 2031 first-round picks — the most useful pieces in their asset cupboard.
“I think the philosophy that JJ and I are aligned on is we want to build sustainable Lakers excellence,” Pelinka said.“… Yes, we would do a trade with both picks if that would lead to sustained Lakers excellence. We would also use one pick to make a marginal upgrade if we felt like it was the right thing to do. We looked long and hard and did a lot of work seeing if there are ways to increase the overall roster talent this offseason and the right move didn’t present itself.”
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The Lakers search for roster improvement this summer turned up mostly empty. The team drafted rookies Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, but were shut out of free agency and trades due to a roster that was already at capacity.
With James heading into his 22nd season and coming off of a successful run at the Olympics, Redick said the Lakers have a plan for easing him into the season early.
“But when we watch the pickup games, he’s going full tilt,” Redick said of James. “If he’s going on the court, he’s going. So in some ways, sometimes we have to save him from himself, whether that’s in training camp, practices throughout the season.”
One of those on-court moments came this week when James scored on his rookie son in a scrimmage. Redick acknowledged the team will have some role in how the two will make history this season when they become the first father-son duo to play together in the NBA.
“We don’t have anything planned, per se, in terms of a commitment to do it this way. We obviously have talked about it as a staff and we’ve gotten into some specifics of what that might look like,” Redick said. “But we haven’t committed to anything. And obviously, there’s a discussion to be had once we’re all together with Bronny and LeBron, too.”
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The Lakers continue to try and thread a very tight needle eye where the team can be responsible about its future while still competing for titles with the NBA’s all-time leading scorer on the roster.
“I think for any team to do well, you have to have good health and good fortune and those things are variables you can’t control. But with those, we have a lot of confidence in those 15 players [on the roster],” 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.”
The team will not have Jarred Vanderbilt or Christian Wood at the start of training camp because of offseason surgeries. Wood, who struggled in a limited role a year ago, underwent his second surgery on his left knee this calendar year. He’s set for reevaluation in six weeks. And Vanderbilt, who played just 29 games a year ago, underwent surgeries on each of his feet following the end of the season.
“We have a lot of optimism that when the real games start, he’ll be available,” Pelinka said of Vanderbilt.
Gabe Vincent, who dealt with knee injuries a season ago, is cleared for the start of camp.
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Redick, of course, is the change the Lakers can count on to affect them the most.
“I would say what we have tried to create is an energy and a vibe in the gym every day. It’s like a perfect balance of, I would call it, ‘focused joy,’ if that makes sense,” Redick said of voluntary summer workouts. “We’re grateful every day to be in this gym — the staff, the players. But it’s focused, it’s intentional, and it’s organized.”
As far as on-court specifics, Redick and Pelinka said the team would like to improve the volume of offensive rebounds and three-point shots while creating more chances for Austin Reaves to work on the ball. Redick also said he’s been encouraged by young players such as Max Christie and last year’s first-round pick Jalen Hood-Schifino.
“These guys have gotten better significantly over the last two months,” Redick said. “So really excited to see them compete in training camp and preseason.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
