LOS ANGELES — Steve Kerr couldn’t help himself when describing the vibe at Crypto.com Arena with LeBron James no longer playing for the Lakers.
Read more Fryer on Football: Previews and predictions for Week 9’s top games
The Golden State Warriors’ head coach called the reality both “weird” and “strange” before the teams squared off in Wednesday night’s season opener.
Eight seasons of Lakers-Warriors games – often marquee contests during James’ longest uninterrupted stretch with any team – will be replaced by less frequent meetings between James’ Philadelphia 76ers and the two West Coast teams.
Wednesday’s game is simply different without James, Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
“I don’t think it’s different good, different bad, different major, different minor – (it’s) just different,” Redick said, having both coached in and broadcast his share of LeBron-Steph Curry showdowns in recent years.
Redick said he likes the look of his team heading into the 2026-27 season. There are nine new players on the roster, and three new faces in the starting lineup.
On Wednesday, wings Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle joined returning guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves and new center Walker Kessler to round out the starting unit.
Williams and Thybulle, two of the Lakers’ low-risk offseason additions on veteran’s minimum contracts, entered the fray – as they did during the team’s preseason finale last week – in favor of guard Quentin Grimes, who will likely serve as the team’s sixth man to begin the season.
Grimes is set to make $15 million per season as a part of his four-year contract with the Lakers, making him the fourth-highest-paid player on the roster. Forward/center Sandro Mamukelashvili is next down the salary list, coming off the bench for the Lakers at $13 million per year.
Read more CIF-SS flag football playoffs: Scores from Tuesday, schedule for Saturday
Redick said he is confident that the players on this roster – which he has said is the first one in his three seasons as Lakers head coach where the pieces “fit together” – have bought into their respective roles during the run up to opening night.
“I think the group has a great foundation and basis for connectivity, and I think a lot of that, again, has to do with the vet minicamp in Vegas and Luka’s trip in Slovenia, and having a really, really active September,” Redick said before the game. “So even with some preseason injuries, the group has gotten a lot of time and reps together.”
EXTRA POINTS
Guard Collin Sexton (right deep calf muscle strain) began the day as questionable for the season opener, but he was ruled out during the afternoon. Sexton, who signed a two-year, $19.2 million contract with the team as a free agent, sat out all five preseason games then returned to practice in full on Monday afternoon.
Sexton went through pregame warmups and Redick said the 27-year-old guard did not suffer a setback and would continue to be day-to-day going forward, adding that the choice to sit out the opener was a collaborative decision.
Second-year wing Adou Thiero (left knee swelling) is being shut down for the next few days, Redick said, adding that afterward he will be on day-to-day status.
“Definitely something we’ll have to continue to monitor,” Redick said of Thiero. “He’ll be shut down for a couple days and then he’ll ramp back up. So he’s day to day, too. … I guess day to day in two days.”
Rookie guard Cameron Carr (right oblique strain) is “ramping up” and is day to day as well.
Read more California High Speed Rail’s southern leg is on the cusp of environmental clearance