EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – For a franchise that displays their championship trophies and retired jerseys around their practice facility, the Lakers have a clear mission statement.
As they enter the 2024-25 NBA season, however, the Lakers don’t exactly have clarity on the question that defines the franchise’s legacy: Do they have a championship-caliber roster?
“That’s a question that I think we’ll get a better sense on after 30 games,” said Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ general manager and vice president of basketball operations. “But we believe in this group. And the 15 guys that play the games are going to control the wins and losses with their effort, with how hard we play and the pride we play with and with how organized and detail oriented we are.
"I can tell you we can’t guarantee wins and losses. But we can guarantee what’s going on with these guys. So the confidence and belief level is high.”
The Lakers say they have high confidence and belief for a few reasons.
It starts with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, both of whom helped Team USA win a gold medal in the Paris Olympics with the strong health and chemistry that fueled the Lakers’ championship run in the NBA campus bubble during the 2019-20 season. It continues with first-year coach coach JJ Redick, who described himself and his coaching staff as “basketball sickos” by showing “focused joy” during voluntary workouts filled with intense scrimmaging and collaborative meetings. And it ends with the Lakers maintaining most of the same roster that lost to the Denver Nuggets in five games in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Whenever the Lakers end a season without a championship parade, they often consider making off-season roster changes. They contemplate that even more when they have a generational star player.
But even with James entering his 22nd NBA season with proof that he can still play at an elite level, the Lakers prioritized roster depth over pursuing a third star.
“We have a lot of confidence in those 15 players,” Pelinka said. “I think the inverse of change or overhaul is continuity. And I think continuity can be highly successful in sports.”
The Boston Celtics won an NBA championship last season partly by staying patient with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, while continuously upgrading their supporting cast. The Denver Nuggets won the NBA title two years ago partly by keeping the same approach with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
“To win now in today's NBA, you need seven or eight players that really impact winning,” Redick said. “And that doesn't mean seven or eight superstars that need the ball in their hands.”
The Lakers didn’t always exercise such patience with James, who often encouraged them to make win-now moves. Consider the Davis trade. Consider the Russell Westbrook deal.
LA won the 2020 NBA title because the chemistry with James and Davis proved more dependable than James playing with a handful of young players. Not so much with Westbrook, whose presence came at the expense of a dependable supporting cast that also couldn’t stay healthy.
Since then, the Lakers have become more deliberative. Consider Pelinka’s latest stance on whether the Lakers will deal their 2029 and 2031 first-round draft picks.
“We would do a trade with both picks if that would lead to sustained Lakers excellence,” Pelinka said. “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 their ways to increase the overall roster talent this offseason and the right move didn't present itself.”
The right move didn’t present itself for a few reasons.
The Lakers couldn’t make sign-and-trade deals for Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors) or DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls) because they didn’t have enough assets to attract either team. They couldn’t sign players outright because they had a handful of pending free agents that exercised their player options, including D’Angelo Russell, Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish.
They also agreed to extensions with their star player (James) and promising young rotation player (Max Christie). The Lakers only changed their roster by drafting Dalton Knecht (No. 17) and Bronny James (No. 58).
Nonetheless, Pelinka predicted “there’s going to be internal growth.”
Pelinka said that forward Rui Hachimura and guard Gabe Vincent will enter training camp without any restrictions after nursing various ailments last season. Pelinka added that Jarred Vanderbilt will likely return by the Lakers’ season opener against Minnesota on Oct 22 after having off-season procedures on his left and right feet.
Though the Lakers will reevaluate center Christian Wood in six weeks after having off-season surgery on his left knee, the Lakers have three backup center options in Hayes, Colin Castleton and Christian Koloko.
Redick foreshadowed that Russell “will have a major role on the team” after having extensive off-season conversations. Pelinka called Christie “one of the hardest workers on the team.” And Pelinka predicted that Reaves will have increased ball-handling duties.
Lastly, Redick announced that his starting lineup will feature James, Davis, Russell, Reaves and Hachimura. The Lakers went 23-10 with that starting lineup last season, but former Lakers coach Darvin Ham didn’t feature that lineup until their 44th game.
“I like the fact that in the games they played together last year, they were 23-10 with essentially the equivalent of a top-five defense,” Redick said. “I like the size a lot, particularly on the front line with Rui, LeBron and AD.
"And Austin is what I would say a bigger or slightly above average sized two-guard. So I like the size of that group. I like the versatility having three guys who can play with the ball in their hands.”
Will that be enough to give the Lakers another championship trophy to display in Jeanie Buss' office? Not only does that depend on whether James and Davis emulate the dominance they had in the Paris Olympics with a less accomplished roster.
That could depend if the Lakers develop their supporting cast enough to increase their collective market value before the trade deadline.
“We will continue to study and scour the marketplace,” Pelinka said. “And if the right move presents itself that leads to long term Lakers excellence and improving our team this season, we'll pull the trigger.”
Mark Medina is a Lakers/Clippers columnist for The Sporting Tribune.
