Lakers name two starters, and LeBron James ‘is preparing for 21 like he’s a rookie’
The music coming through the speakers inside the Lakers’ facility was upbeat. General manager Rob Pelinka and coach Darvin Ham were smiling and joking as they sat down to unofficially start their team’s upcoming season.
Questions about their roster were minimal. There was no foundation-changing trade on the horizon, the ripples from the Damian Lillard deal still shaking up the NBA a day after the news broke.
The Lakers’ leaders were at the team headquarters Thursday, in some ways, to celebrate their summer plans, ones they executed relatively swiftly and without any drama.
Training camp opens Tuesday, one day after players will take their turns at the microphone during media day. The team will enter the season not as the favorite to win the championship, but certainly among the contenders after reaching the Western Conference finals last season.
Christian Wood has played for seven NBA teams in seven seasons, but the Lakers are confident he will fit in with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
“If you don’t have any expectations around you, you’re just existing,” Ham said. “I want to live. I came here for those expectations.”
The excitement inside the Lakers’ practice gym has been building behind closed doors over the last month as the team gathered for offseason workouts.
This past weekend, LeBron James organized a minicamp in San Diego that had perfect attendance throughout the roster.
For James, the buildup to the season comes after his last public appearance as a Laker had him openly questioning his basketball mortality following the Lakers’ 4-0 loss to Denver in the conference finals.
Pelinka, though, said he’s seen James’ fire lit again this offseason.
“It’s staggering for a player who has 20 years under the hood already and is preparing for 21 like he’s a rookie,” Pelinka said.
“He’s been doing 6 a.m. workouts. Probably been in our building as much as any player this offseason. Been in the weight room as much as any player. Any team LeBron’s played for, it’s been pretty uniform that his work sets the tone. There has been nothing but an increase in seeing that here. To me, it’s let’s be about it, let’s not talk about it. He’s definitely been about it this offseason. That really puts a spirit in our entire group to see him preparing that detailed and working that hard.”
Anthony Davis also has had a strong offseason, from a widening array of training methods like boxing to buzz among coaches about an improved jumper coming out of minicamp. Earlier this summer, he re-upped with the Lakers on a $186-million extension keeping him with the organization through the 2027-28 season.
“When AD came up for the extension, Darvin and I had great interactions with him. And the theme was, ‘We want to commit to you, but we want you to commit to us.’ And one of the aspects that we addressed with him in that exchange was becoming a leader and being the hardest worker, and he really did that this offseason,” Pelinka said. “… He’s taken on that leadership mantle and I think he knows that when the franchise invests in him, like we did this summer, he’s gonna return that. That’s just his character. That’s who Anthony Davis is. And we’re excited to see that.”
Ham removed some of the minor mystery heading into the season, anointing D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves as his starting backcourt. He said he expects the team to be fully healthy entering camp.
For Russell, it was a strong vote of confidence after the team moved him to the bench for the final game last season and signed point guard Gabe Vincent in free agency.
Russell, himself a free agent this summer, re-signed with the Lakers on a two-year deal worth $36 million that contains a player option in the final season.
Prior to stumbling against the Nuggets in the conference finals, Russell had played well enough in the postseason after a good stretch following the Lakers’ midseason trade for him.
“We want to keep the bigger picture with him of [when he] came here, he impacted our season in a huge way, led us into the playoffs, beat the defending champions in the Warriors. ... I will say, his offseason has been quietly really impressive,” Pelinka said. “He’s really carried himself with confidence, spirit. He’s been a vocal leader on the court and kind of the workouts are going on with his teammates. It looks like he was very intentional too with taking care of his body and adding a little bit of shoulder strength. I think you guys will see he’s bumping guys off their line, getting into his fadeaway package. D’Angelo’s in a really good headspace.”
Magic Johnson says Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has made the Lakers a championship-caliber team that is the “deepest team in the West.”
With Reaves, the anointing was more of a formality. After staying with the Lakers on a four-year, $54-million deal in free agency, he became one of the top players for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup.
“Austin’s growth isn’t a surprise to any of us that really scouted him, drafted him and helped develop him to this point,” Pelinka said. “He uniquely has that sort of Mamba gene, where it’s all about the work, it’s about playing competitive on every play, it’s about being a great teammate, not caring about the personal accolades but just the team winning. He exemplifies that.”
Assuming Davis and James also will start — and that’s more than a fair assumption — the Lakers will enter camp with one spot in their first five available with Rui Hachimura, Taurean Prince and Jarred Vanderbilt all credible options.
“We’re going to tinker and entertain all sorts of different lineups,” Ham said.
One X-factor could be big man Christian Wood, the final player the Lakers added in free agency. Pelinka and Ham both talked about the lengthy recruitment, one that began back in July before Wood agreed to a contract this month.
“Chris is a really articulate, very thoughtful kid. He thought deeply about the different opportunities he had,” Pelinka said. “There were several contending teams that wanted to add him just because his skills are undeniable. [He] …can spread the floor. He’s got length. He moves fluidly. Just being down at LeBron’s little minicamp down in San Diego, seeing him on the court with Anthony Davis and just the length that those two have together. He’s a phenomenal talent.
“…I think Christian, more than anything, believed in our team, our talent, our group of guys, and then Darvin as the head coach. It was just a really positive process, and I’m super, super excited about the impact that he’s going to have on our winning this year.”
Ham said he and Wood already have spoken about taking his special set of skills and using them to translate to more than just gaudy numbers.
“He’ll tell you he’s never been to the playoffs. And he and I talked and I said, ‘Now it’s time for you to show that your stats that you put up and your impact can impact winning and winning at the highest levels,’” Ham said. “So, he’s excited about that. He’s excited and his teammates have totally embraced him and I’m looking for a lot of big moments out of him this season.”
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