EL SEGUNDO — Practically a system refresh, Thursday was arguably as comfortable as Lakers coach JJ Redick has looked in three seasons at the helm.
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Redick is coming off of back-to-back 50-win seasons – the first Lakers coach since Phil Jackson to have done so, as he reminded President of Basketball Operations/GM Rob Pelinka during a preseason press conference at their team facility – and admitted that the roster makeup of the 2026-27 team is to his liking.
“I think we’ve always tried to give our players clearly defined roles,” Redick said, “and I think with this group, probably the first time in my three years here that I feel like the pieces actually fit together.”
LeBron James is out. Austin Reaves is back. Walker Kessler is in – and so are eight other new players.
Redick said Thursday that he believes the Lakers have expanded depth – enough to develop into championship contenders in the season ahead. Both Pelinka and Redick brushed off a question about patience.
There is no room for patience when you have a hand in leading the Lakers, the franchise’s 17 NBA titles staring back.
But with training camp set to begin Tuesday after their annual Media Day on Monday, there are plenty of questions about how the Lakers will assemble.
Here are five storylines entering camp, with the first preseason game set for Oct. 5 in Sacramento.
How do the Lakers plan to use Kessler?
The Lakers paid a king’s ransom to acquire Kessler from the Utah Jazz. Two first-round draft picks and two first-round pick swaps, is what Pelinka referred to as the market for a restricted free agent of the 7-foot-2 shot blocker’s quality.
At 25 years old, Kessler – who Pelinka said is fully cleared and fully healthy – is officially the third member of a new Big Three alongside Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic. How does that change the makeup of the Lakers’ starting lineup and how they play?
Redick said to expect Kessler to be dispatched similarly to how the San Antonio Spurs handle French star Victor Wembanyama: keeping him near the basket to make plays.
“I think Walker’s a perfect fit for Luka and A.R. Just in terms of his rim protection and really being an anchor for our defense, it’s an area we’ve struggled with,” Redick said. “I know we have switched a lot one through five over the years; that has been by necessity.”
Despite playing just five games last season after undergoing season-ending left shoulder surgery, Kessler has averaged 9.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots per game over four NBA seasons. Redick sees Kessler playing in the pocket and being a serious lob threat for the Lakers, who led the league in the category last season.
Bromance basketball takes the lead
Since Doncic joined the Lakers in a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks in February 2025, rewriting the future of the franchise’s identity, he and Reaves have been practically inseparable.
Their shenanigans have been on display for the past season and a half, and in Doncic’s vlog of when he brought the roster to Ljubljana, Slovenia for five days in August.
When asked Thursday if he was excited to see Doncic and Reaves get a proper runway – without James on occasion – as the Lakers’ leading duo, Redick let out a monotoned response.
“Yeah, we intentionally split them up every single day,” Redick said, the short, blunt answer leading to an awkward pause during the press conference.
After the press conference, Redick told the Southern California News Group that he was making a joke with his response. But he insisted that it’s actually true – he does have to split up the stars during practices.
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As a duo, Doncic and Reaves had the Lakers’ second-best plus/minus rating last season at plus-5.1 points in just 41 games together due to their respective injuries.
And as Redick said Thursday, they’re the de-factor leaders of this group.
“Austin has been the leader in the gym every single day (during the offseason),” Redick said. “And Luka’s obviously been back this week, and he’s been awesome. So it’s those guys’ team. We’ll continue to develop them as leaders, but it’s a requirement for all the players to lead in their own way.”
The youth
Unprompted during Thursday’s press conference, Redick was quick to gush over the development of second-year wing Adou Thiero.
“Adou has had an unbelievable last two months of development,” Redick said. “It’s the first stretch he’s had since we drafted him where he’s had uninterrupted time in the gym and his body’s been in great shape and he’s just gotten better.”
Thiero, who was injured to begin the 2025-26 season and missed the NBA Summer League before his rookie season, wasn’t the only young player Redick pointed to. Pelinka said that during pickup games on Thursday, Doncic was looking for first-round pick Cameron Carr – and frequently found him for corner 3-pointers and lobs.
Pelinka said they had Carr higher on their draft board than No. 24 overall, where they ultimately landed him in a draft-night trade with the New York Knicks, calling him an “extraordinary athlete.”
Redick said because of their depth at the wing – where there are six or seven players vying for minutes – Carr will get a runway for opportunity.
“I don’t care if you’re a rookie or a 10-year guy, that’s just rare,” Redick said of Carr’s composure, referring to the Baylor product getting injured during summer league play, flying to Los Angeles for an MRI and returning to continue to play. “The guy wants to play, he wants to learn, he wants to compete. Where he was on our board was not 24. He was much higher. So we feel very fortunate that we were able to get Cam.”
They’ll score, but how about defending?
The Lakers should score plenty of points. They’ve added guards Collin Sexton and Quentin Grimes. They’ve added forwards Ziaire Williams and Sandro Mamukelashvili.
Redick said with Kessler – who he considers the anchor of the defense – and their perimeter defenders, they think they have “enough.”
Although he has struggled to stay on the court, the Lakers also added veteran wing Matisse Thybulle, who is widely considered to be one of the best on-ball defenders in the league. Redick mentioned Williams, Thiero and Carr as disruptors.
“I think just the combination of Walker’s ability to protect the rim and the wing defenders we have, we’re really excited about that,” Redick said.
Who is the odd man out?
A major storyline of training camp is who won’t be on the Opening Night roster. The Lakers have 16 fully-guaranteed players on their roster, which is one more than the league allows during the regular season.
Pelinka said Thursday that he sees the next month as a period of competition to help make that final roster decision, not ruling out a two-for-one consolidation trade rather than waiving a player.
“The spirit of competition has been great, and to some extent, going from 16 guys to 15 guys, we have until Opening Night for the competition to sort of play out and see who the best 15 players are,” Pelinka said.
Outside of the Lakers’ star trio, new signings and their young prospects in Thiero and Carr, five players remain: Bronny James, Dalton Knecht, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia and Jaden Hardy.
The Lakers also received a pair of second-round draft picks when they dealt center Deandre Ayton for Hardy during the offseason, which could come into play should they opt to go the trade route.
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