Lakerholics

Max Christie’s poor play and Anthony Davis’ injury may have opened the door for Lakers’ rookie head coach JJ Redick to make a pair of quick and dramatic changes to upgrade the defensive play of his 9-man rotation.

Coach Redick started the process of upgrading the defense of his 9-man rotation by inserting Cam Reddish to replace Max Christie, who started both season and game poorly after a new contract and raise offseason.
While L.A. still lost the game to Detroit, Reddish was the only Laker with a positive plus/minus and likely stole Christie’s backup shooting guard role and possibly re-opened a long shot opportunity to win a starting spot.

With Anthony Davis questionable due to a heel injury, it appears the Lakers are accelerating Christian Koloko’s opportunity to earn a rotation role as they’ve made him active for tonight’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
While Christian has not played in over a year, tonight will be his Lakers’ debut and it could not have come at a better time. After a great start, L.A.’s struggling and desperately in need of an injection of size and defense.

While replacing Christie and Hayes with Reddish and Koloko will help the Lakers defensively, there are still other key rotation moves to consider, including what to do about the situation with center Jaxson Hayes.
There’s also the dilemma of what to do about the D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves backcourt, which may work for the regular season but is likely to be an albatross for the Lakers once the NBA playoffs begin.

Gabe Vincent is still struggling mightily and Redick has already shown he’s not going to sit around and wait for players to start playing well. His move to replace Christie showed he’s not going to hesitate if changes are needed.
The Lakers may also have a quality replacement option for Gabe Vincent in Quincy Olivari. Considering how quickly Redick was in replacing Christie, Gabe Vincent should realize his rotation role is on the line right now.

Lakers ownership and front office needs to realize this Lakers roster is one of two quality rotation players from becoming a legitimate championship contender this season. Time to invest in Anthony Davis and LeBron James.

Besides starting and closing with last year’s conference finals lineup, JJ Redick is also pairing Anthony Davis with D’Angelo Russell and LeBron James with Austin Reaves for the Lakers’ middle-of-game rotations.

Strategically, JJ is making the move for several reasons. First, he wants to take better advantage of the elite pick-and-roll chemistry D’Angelo Russell already has with Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves with LeBron James.
Secondly, he wants to make sure every lineup used will both be balanced and competitive. That means making sure the offense and defense balance of every lineup is sound and that lineup has the 2-way talent to compete.

One of JJ Redick’s strengths as a head coach has been his work ethic and attention to detail. Unlike Darvin Ham, Redick has a vision for the players he wants on the Lakers squad and how he wants them to play basketball.
JJ’s other strength has been his ability to make quick decisions, which is what he did with both the starting lineup and with this recent decision to pair Davis with Russell and James with Reaves for team’s middle lineups.

With a roster that brings back most of the players from last year’s team that made it to the Western Conference finals, the Lakers have an opportunity for the first time since signing LeBron to build chemistry and continuity.
JJ Redick has a chance to do in his first 5 games what it took Darvin Ham almost half a season to do, which is figure out who should be starting and closing games and who should be part of the team’s new 9-man rotation.

So let’s take a closer look at JJ Redick’s plan to create balanced and competitive middle-game lineups by pairing Davis/Russell and James/Reaves with complementary combinations of bench players.

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LAKERS 9-MAN ROTATION

The above chart displays a sample 9-man rotation utilizing only players who are currently on the Lakers’ roster and able to play. Christie, Vincent, and Hayes are likely to be replaced in the rotation at some point in time.

This Lakers rotation includes 8 different 5-man lineups. 4 of the 5-man lineups consist of starters Reaves, Russell, Hachimura, James, and Davis, who will start and close both the first and second halves of each game.
The other 4 lineups will be 5-man mixes of starters and reserves led by Davis/Russell or James/Reaves who will follow the starters and precede the closers and fill out the middle of the first and second halves of the game.

Redick’s new move ensures that the Lakers will always have one of their two superstar bigs in Anthony Davis and LeBron James and one of their two playmaking guards in D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves on the court.
By establishing two complementary middle-of-game lineups anchored by a superstar big and playmaking guard, Redick simply established a scheme by which the Lakers would always have balanced, competitive lineups.

The new scheme not only optimizes the Lakers best two pick-and-roll duos but also maximizes time on the court by the team’s five starters while minimizing it for the four reserves included in the Lakers’ 9-man rotation. One of Darvin Ham’s biggest shortcoming as a head coach was how long it took him to decide on the starting lineup that made the conference finals and how often his midgame lineups were not balanced or competitive.

Once Vanderbilt, Wood, and Koloko have recovered from their injuries, there’s a good chance they, or other players for whom the Lakers trade, will eventually replace Christie, Vincent, and Hayes in the 9-man rotation.

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STARTER/BENCH MINUTES

JJ’s new rotation also assures that the Lakers always have two starters in every lineup and 180 or 75% of the 240 minutes per game will be played by Lakers’ starters and only 60 minutes per game or 25% by bench players.

The Lakers have a bench scoring problem. They currently have the league’s best starting lineup, averaging a stunning 98.0 points per game and the league’s worst bench lineup, averaging a league worst 20.1 points per game.
So far, all five of the Lakers’ starters are averaging double figures and the team has won 4 of their first 6 games and are facing a November schedule that is much less challenging and offers an opportunity to rack up wins.

While it’s still early in the season, Redick is not likely to have too much patience with Christie, Vincent, and Hayes. Christie and Vincent have been terrible and Hayes is possibly facing a domestic violence suspension.
Hopefully, the Lakers will get Vanderbilt, Wood, and Koloko back from injury or trade for more talent to upgrade their bench to replace Christie, Vincent, and Hayes with players who play better offense and defense.

Ultimately, the Lakers are going to have to make a decision on the Reaves and Russell backcourt, which realistically is not good enough defensively to be a championship backcourt. Most likely decision is to trade Russell.
The other starting lineup change the Lakers may consider is moving Rui Hachimura to the bench to boost scoring and replacing him with a second big on the roster like Koloko or making a trade for a big like Walker Kessler.

The Lakers need to optimize minutes for their starters and minimize minutes for their bench until they get players back from injury or from a trade that will enable them to upgrade their bench offense and defense.

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LAKERS’ NEXT 30 DAYS

Last season, the Lakers finished their first 20 games of the season with an 11–9 record. Right now, the Lakers are 4–2. Over the next 30 days, they will play a dramatically easier schedule with 14 mostly winnable games.

The toughest games will be those against OKC and San Antonio and two games against Memphis. Other than those games, the Lakers should have a realistic opportunity to go 9–5, 10–4, or 11–3 over the 14-game schedule.
At best, the Lakers current team could enter December as a top-2 team in the West with a 15–5 record. At worst, they could enter December as a top-6 team in the West with a 12–8 record, slightly better than last season.

One thing that seems clear is that this year’s Lakers team is dramatically better despite essentially being the same as last year’s team. The difference, of course, has been the terrific job done by rookie head coach JJ Redick.
Redick has been a revelation who’s taken the Lakers by storm with the strength of his personality. The players have embraced his approach and vision and there’s no doubt the front office will be forced to make moves.

Ideally, the Los Angeles Lakers need a new starting point guard who’s an aggressive point-of-attack defender and a new starting center who can protect the rim and start alongside Anthony Davis in a two-bigs lineup.
The Lakers will have to look to a trade or free agency to get a new point guard but there’s a chance that Christian Wood or Christian Koloko could work out as the second big to start next to and complement Anthony Davis.

JJ Redick has shown in just 6 games that this Lakers team is just one player or two away from being a legitimate championship contender. Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka will have no choice but to be forced to make a big trade.

As the 2024–25 NBA regular season finally kicks off, new Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick is implementing a stunning and dramatic 5-step plan to finally transform the Los Angeles Lakers into a modern NBA franchise.

The decision to hire JJ Redick despite his lack of coaching experience was part of an overriding decision by owner Jeanie Buss and GM Rob Pelinka to refocus Lakers’ team building around player development and continuity.
With the new CBA’s financial and competitive challenges and looming retirement of LeBron James, Lakers’ ownership and front office realized the time to modernize the team’s offense and defense was long overdue.

The Lakers ended up bringing back most of the players from last season’s roster, drafting Dalton Knecht and Bronny James Jr. and adding Christian Koloko but losing Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie via free agency. Unfortunately, efforts to upgrade the roster, including adding a starting quality center to pair with Anthony Davis, have been hindered by the lack of open roster spots due to multiple players accepting player options.

Despite struggles to upgrade the roster, expectations are soaring as the Lakers have enthusiastically embraced Redick’s elite basketball IQ and detailed 5-step plan to modernize the Lakers offensively and defensively.

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1. Embrace Advanced Analytics

The first step needed to modernize the Lakers is for the organization to fully embrace advanced analytics. Embracing analytics means changing your identity, how you play, what you prioritize, who you want to be.

Make no mistake, transforming and modernizing a LeBron James and Anthony Davis led Lakers’ team that finished 2nd in the NBA last season in points-in-the-paint and made-free-throws will be a major challenge.
For four years, the Lakers have held onto their old school offensive and defensive tendencies, forcing them to offset a negative deficit from 3-point shooting by over-relying on points-in-the-paint and made-free-throws.

Whether JJ Redick can successfully convincing the Lakers to embrace analytics and modernize their game will obviously depend heavily on how superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis buy into the new direction.
Lakers’ ownership and front office are convinced that Redick has the coaching chops and personal charisma to pull off what Luke Walton, Frank Vogel, and Darvin Ham were unable to do as former Lakers’ head coaches.

On offense, embracing analytics means shooting more threes, crashing the boards, and playing 2-bigs and 4-out. On defense, it means switching 1-through-4 to better prevent paint penetration and wide open 3-point shots.

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2. Increase 3-Point Shot Attempts

Last season, the Lakers were the 8th most accurate 3-point shooting team in the league, hitting 37.7% of their 3-point attempts. Unfortunately, they took and made so few threes they finished 28th in 3PA and 24th in 3PM.

Last season, the Lakers under head coach Darvin Ham averaged 11.8 made threes per game while allowing 14.7 made threes per game, resulting in a negative 3-point differential of -2.9 made threes or -8.7 points per game.
The Lakers were able to offset +6.9 points per game last season by winning points-in-the paint by +5.1 points (55.8–50.7) and made-free-throws by +1.8 points (15.1–13.3) but leaving them with a deficit of -1.8 points per game.

Strategically, the best way for the Lakers to continue to win the battles over points-in-the-paint and made-free-throws is to increase their 3-point takes and makes to dramatically improve spacing and wide open paths to rim.
Traditionally, the Lakers have used the old school path of dominating the paint in hopes of opening up outside shooting. The smarter path today is to use volume 3-point shooting to create spacing to attack the paint and rim.

Redick wants the Lakers to shoot 5 more threes per game, which would have increased their 3PA per game from 31.4 3PA per game to 36.4 3PA per game last season, which would have ranked them as #9 in the league.

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3. Increase Offensive Rebounds

Besides attempting more threes, JJ Redick also wants this season’s Lakers to focus on grabbing more offensive rebounds. Last year, the Lakers ranked 30th out of 30 teams with a meager 8.2 offensive rebounds per game.

The challenge faced by teams looking to improve offensive rebounding is figuring out how to attack the boards while still being able to get back on defense in time to prevent easy fast break points by the opposing team.
Unfortunately, the Lakers allowed 16.2 fast break points last year, ranked 27th out of 30 teams and extremely disappointing considering they were obviously not prioritizing offensive rebounding or transition defense.

Redick wants the Lakers to commit to offensive rebounding, especially by corner shooters crashing the glass with a goal of generating so many offensive boards that it forces opposing teams to defensively rebound.
The simplest way to prevent opposing teams from leaking out for easy transition buckets is to force their defensive rebounders to stay and fight to prevent the Lakers from dominating the boards and getting easy putbacks.

Ideally, the Lakers want to have a top-10 offense and defense. To do that, they need to increase offensive rebounds from 8.2 to 11.0 per game and reduce transition defense from allowing 16.2 to 13.5 points per game.

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4. Switch 1-Through-4 on Defense

Defensively, Lakers have always been a team that prefers their perimeter defenders to stick with the players they’re defending and fight over picks, which often allows opposing ball handlers to put our defenders in prison.

Refusing to switch on the perimeter ends up allowing easy midrange jumpers and lethal floaters by opposing ball handlers who have their defenders on their hips over our centers who are playing drop coverage.
Redick’s new strategy of switching everything one-through-four is a major change in how the Lakers plan to handle picks by guards and forwards. Importantly, the change to switching is a better fit with drop coverage.

Switching one-through-four makes it dramatically easier for our perimeter defenders to stay in from of the players they’re guarding, prevent any penetration into the paint, and challenge any attempted 3-point shots. Considering neither Austin Reaves or D’Angelo Russell are elite perimeter defenders, switching one-through-four will definitely make it harder for opposing teams to target and take advantage of them as weak defenders.

Finally, switching one-through-four not only is a better fit for Lakers centers playing drop coverage but is also perfect for playing two bigs with Anthony Davis able to roam free to provide elite defensive help.

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5. Deploy 2-Bigs 4-Out on Offense

In addition to switching everything one-through-four, JJ Redick wants to pair Anthony Davis with a second big, believing that a two-bigs lineup is essential to the Lakers having championship caliber size and physicality.

While Rui Hachimura will likely start the season at small forward, it would not be a surprise if the Lakers opted to trade Rui in order to open up a starting spot to pair a second big with Anthony Davis in a two-bigs lineup. One of the Lakers best performing lineups last season were lineups where Christian Wood was paired with Anthony Davis. While Wood did not have a good shooting season last year, Chris could see lots of action alongside AD.

Finding a starting quality center who can be paired with Anthony Davis will be a major focus of the Lakers’ front office heading into the trade deadline next February. This should be the Lakers top midseason priority bar none.
Whether it’s Christian Wood or Christian Koloko or a trade for a starting center like Robert Williams III, JJ Redick clearly wants to move to a two-bigs lineup where Anthony Davis is paired with another elite big man.

There’s no question that the Lakers view their greatest need right now as finding a second starting quality big to pair with Anthony Davis. There’s a good chance that Christian Wood or Christian Koloko could be that big.

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With LeBron James’ and Anthony Davis’ preseason debuts slated tonight, we may finally get a glimpse of how the Lakers will play under new head coach JJ Redick, with big changes expected both on offense and defense.

Offensively, Redick knows the Lakers must modernize their offense and embrace the 3-point shot to win rings in today’s NBA. Look for the Lakers to increase their 3-point attempts from low 30’s to high 30’s or even low 40’s.
Anthony Davis will be the hub for the Lakers offensively and LeBron James will play more off the ball to save energy. Also expect more off-ball motion and screening and more running set plays versus letting players freelance.

Defensively, Redick plans for the Lakers to switch one-through-four, which means switching everything unless the opposing center is making the pick. This makes it easier for defenders to prevent penetration and stop threes.
Most importantly, switching one-through-four works better with drop coverage as it prevents opposing ball handlers from using screens to put defenders in jail for easy midrange jumpers, floaters, and/or free throws.

While Darvin Ham’s reign as the Lakers’ head coach ended up burning and crashing, there were moments when the greatness of James and Davis and the innate talent of the rest of the roster was able to shone through the fog.
Included in those moments were the Lakers’ league 5th-best 22–10 finish to last season, their league 3rd-best 118.5 points per game after February 3rd, and their starting lineup’s league 2nd- best 110.5 team defensive rating.

Those isolated stats are like easy veins of gold for an analytics-oriented coach like Redick to mine. They show this Lakers roster not only has the potential to be a top-10 offensive team but also a top-10 defensive team.
While most NBA pundits view the Lakers as a likely play-in team at best, Redick already has the Lakers’ players, organization, and fans giddy with optimism that they finally have their next Pat Riley or Phil Jackson.

Replace the chaos, distrust, and inconsistency of Ham’s reign with the attention to detail, shared trust, and proven consistency of JJ Redick as the Lakers’ new coach and visionary to see their championship potential.

Unable to find a trade worth giving up picks, the Los Angeles Lakers are now facing a critical decision whether to stand pat and run it back next season with the same roster or go all-in to win a long-shot championship.

The pressure is growing for Rob Pelinka to upgrade the Lakers’ starting lineup and rotation to give new coach JJ Redict a roster that can compete and LeBron James and Anthony Davis an opportunity to win another ring. Rob has no one but himself to blame for the lack of trade opportunities as his overuse of player options has left the team with zero open roster spots and his poor cap management has them stuck just under the second apron.

The Lakers desperately need a major trade to create cap space under the second apron so they can use the $5.4 million TX MLE to sign a backup point guard like Spencer Dinwiddie or shooting guard like Gary Trent, Jr.
If they want to be a real championship contender, the Lakers also need to upgrade their starting lineup and rotation with a strong point-of-attack perimeter defender, bigger 3&D wing, and rim-protecting backup center.

The pressure on Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office to use their 2 first round picks and 3 pick swaps to make a major trade grows every time another available player or free agent coveted by L.A. gets traded or signed.
While the asking price of every Lakers target seems to be multiple draft picks, the Chicago Bulls recently announced that they would be willing to give up two second round picks in a Zach LaVine superstar salary dump.

Zach’s market value has plummeted partly due to his injury history but mostly due to the 3-years and $138 million left on his contract, which limits playoff quality teams from building out their rosters under the new CBA.
But the opportunity to acquire a first round pick, which could be flipped for another starter, as compensation for taking Zach LaVine’s contract could change everything as he’s a great fit on the court for the Lakers.

Here are three compelling reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers’ best option to upgrade their starting lineup and rotation is to trade with the Chicago Bulls for shooting guard Zach LaVine and an unprotected first round pick.

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1. Opens Door for Another Lakers NBA Championship

The first compelling reason for the Lakers to trade for Zach LaVine and a Bulls’ first round draft pick is it opens the door for the Los Angeles Lakers with LeBron James and Anthony Davis to win another NBA championship.

Paying maximum contracts to superstars James, Davis, and LaVine makes it almost impossible for the Lakers to surround their three superstars with a championship caliber roster without going over the dreaded second apron. But adding a legitimate superstar guard like Zach LaVine in his prime who perfectly complements LeBron James and Anthony Davis, plus a first round draft pick to be used for a second starter, is a deal L.A. should not pass up.

The Lakers could use the Bulls’ first round pick to trade for the strong point-of-attack perimeter defender, bigger 3&D wing, or rim-protecting backup center they desperately need to become legitimate contenders.
They could target point-of-attack perimeter defenders like Marcus Smart, bigger 3&D wings like Jerami Grant or Cam Johnson, or rim-protecting defensive backup centers like Walker Kessler or Wendell Carter Jr.

One trade option the Lakers should explore is using the Bulls’ pick to trade with the Jazz for Walker Kessler to be the coveted second big they need to better defend bigger low-gravity centers like Jokic, Sabonis, and Embiid.
The Lakers could offer the Jazz the equivalent of two first round picks for Kessler, giving them the first round pick from the Bulls as well as removing the 1–4 protection from their 2027 first round pick already owned by Jazz.

The Lakers would start a lineup of Austin Reaves, Zach LaVine, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Walker Kessler with a bench mob of Spencer Dinwiddie, Max Christie, Dalton Knecht, Chris Wood, and Jaxson Hayes.
That would be a dramatically stronger starting lineup and rotation than the Los Angeles Lakers currently have and should elevate them to legitimate championship contender status in what will be a wild Western Conference.

Trading with the Chicago Bulls for Zach LaVine and a first round pick to be turned into another starter is the best trade option available to transform the Los Angeles Lakers into legitimate NBA championship contenders.

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2. Preserves Important Draft Capital for Future Growth

Preserving their current draft capital of two tradable first round picks and three pick swaps is the second compelling reason why the Lakers should trade with Chicago for Zach LaVine plus a Bulls’ first round draft pick.

The Lakers’ ability to respond when player signings or trade opportunities pop up or unexpected team crises suddenly demand action could depend on whether they possess the draft capital needed to make adjustments.
The Lakers’ greatest vulnerability should they trade for Zach LaVine is they would then have three superstars with very troublesome injury histories. Having the draft capital to make a key move if a star goes down is critical.

While it’s not a sure thing the Bulls would be willing to include a first round draft pick as compensation to dump Zach LaVine’s bad contract, Chicago is clearly done with LaVine and vice versa and L.A. may be the only buyer.
The Lakers have a unique opportunity not only to trade for a long coveted third superstar in LaVine, who’s a perfect complement to James and Davis, but ironically be rewarded for doing so with a Bulls’ first round draft pick.

Getting a first round pick for a player for whom you would usually give multiple first round picks tells you everything you want to know about how the new CBA has caused a massive revaluation of NBA player contracts.
While three superstar teams will still happen, their shelf life may well be limited to one or two seasons. In this new NBA world, even the luxury tax immune Golden State Warriors are projected to pay zero taxes next year.

Rob Pelinka should be able to read the tea leaves and see that the financial and competitive landscape of the NBA is changing. Being able upgrade the Lakers while still preserving their current draft capital is a gigantic win.
It not only gives the Lakers the trading chips needed should a chance to get better suddenly emerge but also the insurance that they can make moves should LeBron, Anthony, Zach. or another key player suffer an injury.

Trading for the Bulls’ Zach LaVine and a first round pick to be used to add another quality starter is the Lakers’ best trade option because it preserves their tradable two first round picks and three first round pick swaps.

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3. Solves Critical Issue of LeBron James’ Replacement

The third compelling reason the Lakers should trade with the Bulls for Zach LaVine and a first round pick is it solves the critical issue of who is going to replace LeBron James when he retires in two or three years.

The two toughest transitions for NBA teams to successfully manage are replacing a head coach or a superstar due to the challenge of coordinating the timing of the departure of the old with the pending arrival of the new.
While LeBron continues to play like a top-ten NBA player, it’s difficult to imagine him playing more than two or three years, which increases the Lakers’ urgency to find another superstar to replace him and pair with AD.

Frankly, it could be years before the Lakers see a better opportunity to land a legitimate superstar to replace LeBron James than trading with the Bulls for Zach LaVine and being giving a first round draft pick as compensation.
It’s an out-of-the-box move that allows the Lakers to upgrade to contender, save their draft capital, and trade for LeBron James’ superstar replacement. Getting that Bulls’ draft pick changes the overall dynamic of the trade.

Trading for Zach LaVine and a pick does not lesson his risk of injury or lighten the financial load his contract has on the team’s cap situation but landing LeBron’s replacement before he retires is franchise-changing.
LaVine has always been a great fit to play as third star with James and Davis and then to pair with AD when LBJ retired. It’s always been the risk of injury with no resources to adjust that negated trading for Zach LaVine.

As the Lakers continue to do nothing as free agency continues, there’s a growing sense Rob Pelinka and the Lakers may not be able to find any viable trades worth gambling their future and giving up their draft capital.
Hopefully, the Lakers will then take a second look at calling up the Bulls and discussing a trade for LaVine where Chicago give Los Angeles a future first round pick as compensation for taking on Zach’s bad contract.

Trading for 29-year old Zach LaVine would give the Los Angeles Lakers the opportunity to replace 40-year old LeBron James with the perfect co-star to pair with 30-year old Anthony Davis when LeBron James eventually retires.