Originally published by LakersNation.com
The Los Angeles Lakers have an entirely new team after an offseason overhaul. Their goal from the offseason was clear: build a younger, deeper team that matches the skillsets of their star duo in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The biggest get for them was restricted free agent Walker Kessler, who will join Doncic and Reaves as the starting center in JJ Redick’s opening lineup.
That leaves two spots up for grabs between a host of players both new and returning, and it might take a training camp battle to figure out who that will be. Among the options are Quentin Grimes, Jake LaRavia, Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle, Sandro Mamukelashvili and even Jarred Vanderbilt. Redick is unsure exactly which two, but he does know one thing they won’t have in common.
“I’m pretty confident in three of the spots. The other two spots will not be two white guys,” Redick joked at L.A.’s preseason press conference. “Those are the two things that aren’t changing.”
The Lakers have been at the end of plenty of jokes this offseason for how white their roster is, and with their starting lineup already built around Doncic, Reaves and Kessler, Redick ensured that there won’t be two more. In fact, one of the things Redick likes most about the roster is how many options there are.
“I think first of all it starts with having that center in Walker,” the head coach said. “It’s why we valued him the way we valued him. I think we have great wing depth, and I’m really excited for camp to start next week and for us to go through the preseason process. There’s a lot of minutes, there’s starting spots that are up for grabs. I think we’re going to have a highly competitive camp.
“We’ve been in the gym in small-group workouts and guys have been playing pickup for the last six weeks, and obviously five of those days were the Slovenian trip, but it’s been a highly competitive gym. I think we have enough perimeter defense. We have plenty of shooting and plenty of ball-handling. To me, this has not been — and it never will be — a full rebuild around Luka in one offseason. That’s not the way the NBA works, and particularly with free agency the way it is now. But I like everything we did this summer to build around him, to build around AR, and to provide us with a ton of depth.”
While nothing is confirmed, Quentin Grimes being the fourth starter seems like a likely outcome. He got the second-biggest contract of the offseason from the Lakers and is now their fourth-highest paid player overall. He also has a complementary skillset on both ends of the floor and already has experience playing next to Doncic.
The fifth starter is where things get interesting. But like Redick says, there are plenty of options to decide between and leaving it to a camp battle ensures some competitive work being done before the season begins. And Redick seems confident that the final answer won’t be two more white guys.
JJ Redick excited about Walker Kessler addition
There appears to be plenty of buzz surrounding the acquisition of Kessler, the team’s first dominant defensive big man since Anthony Davis. Redick, for one, is excited about getting to work with a big of that caliber.
“I think Walker’s a perfect fit for Luka and AR,” Redick said at his annual preseason press conference. “Just in terms of his rim protection and really being an anchor for our defense, it’s an area we’ve struggled with.
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The Los Angeles Lakers have an entirely new team after an offseason overhaul. Their goal from the offseason was clear: build a younger, deeper team that matches the skillsets of their star duo in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The biggest get for them was restricted free agent Walker Kessler, who will join Doncic and Reaves as the starting center in JJ Redick’s opening lineup.
That leaves two spots up for grabs between a host of players both new and returning, and it might take a training camp battle to figure out who that will be. Among the options are Quentin Grimes, Jake LaRavia, Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle, Sandro Mamukelashvili and even Jarred Vanderbilt. Redick is unsure exactly which two, but he does know one thing they won’t have in common.
“I’m pretty confident in three of the spots. The other two spots will not be two white guys,” Redick joked at L.A.’s preseason press conference. “Those are the two things that aren’t changing.”
The Lakers have been at the end of plenty of jokes this offseason for how white their roster is, and with their starting lineup already built around Doncic, Reaves and Kessler, Redick ensured that there won’t be two more. In fact, one of the things Redick likes most about the roster is how many options there are.
“I think first of all it starts with having that center in Walker,” the head coach said. “It’s why we valued him the way we valued him. I think we have great wing depth, and I’m really excited for camp to start next week and for us to go through the preseason process. There’s a lot of minutes, there’s starting spots that are up for grabs. I think we’re going to have a highly competitive camp.
“We’ve been in the gym in small-group workouts and guys have been playing pickup for the last six weeks, and obviously five of those days were the Slovenian trip, but it’s been a highly competitive gym. I think we have enough perimeter defense. We have plenty of shooting and plenty of ball-handling. To me, this has not been — and it never will be — a full rebuild around Luka in one offseason. That’s not the way the NBA works, and particularly with free agency the way it is now. But I like everything we did this summer to build around him, to build around AR, and to provide us with a ton of depth.”
While nothing is confirmed, Quentin Grimes being the fourth starter seems like a likely outcome. He got the second-biggest contract of the offseason from the Lakers and is now their fourth-highest paid player overall. He also has a complementary skillset on both ends of the floor and already has experience playing next to Doncic.
The fifth starter is where things get interesting. But like Redick says, there are plenty of options to decide between and leaving it to a camp battle ensures some competitive work being done before the season begins. And Redick seems confident that the final answer won’t be two more white guys.
JJ Redick excited about Walker Kessler addition
There appears to be plenty of buzz surrounding the acquisition of Kessler, the team’s first dominant defensive big man since Anthony Davis. Redick, for one, is excited about getting to work with a big of that caliber.
“I think Walker’s a perfect fit for Luka and AR,” Redick said at his annual preseason press conference. “Just in terms of his rim protection and really being an anchor for our defense, it’s an area we’ve struggled with.
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.
