Rob Pelinka on why re-signing Max Christie was a priority for the Lakers: pic.twitter.com/uX3jXeysnP

— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) September 25, 2024

Rob Pelinka said that Gabe Vincent, Rui Hachimura and Jalen Hood-Schifino are all cleared for training camp.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) September 25, 2024

JJ Redick says he has spoken to D'Angelo Russell probably more than any other Lakers player since he got the job.

“Let's put you in position to have a career year” pic.twitter.com/zDPopnsaTS

— Icey (@IceyDLO) September 25, 2024

Whether or not you agree with it is a matter of opinion. Personally I think if you have LeBron James and Anthony Davis you should be all-in. https://t.co/lfaD41hHLh

— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) September 25, 2024

The "sustained Lakers excellence" standard for a picks trade really feels like it ties to how much Rob and JJ have emphasized player development since the summer.

It doesn't feel like they're in all-in mode anymore. They're thinking long-term, not short-term.

— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) September 25, 2024

The firsts are in 2029 and 2031.

They can trade 2030 but not combined with 2029 or 2031.

They have 5 years of swaps available (26, 28, 29, 30, 31) https://t.co/EerUuVCris

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) September 25, 2024

Lakers presser with JJ and Pelinka is today at 1pm PST. Both the team’s YouTube channel and Spectrum SportsNet will live-stream the event.

— Dillon (@DillonNBA) September 25, 2024

Redick's vision for LeBron James, Anthony Davis and other Lakers can solve LA's biggest problems https://t.co/NJoEpzUEl7

— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 25, 2024

The Lakers hope that swapping coaches is enough to change their fortunes from last season, where they finished with the eighth-best record in the West and lost in the first round.

JJ Redick is taking over mostly the same roster as his predecessor, Darvin Ham, but plans to change a few things.

Redick gave some insights into how the Lakers can play better in an offseason appearance on ESPN’s “The Lowe Post,” sharing how he wants to use LeBron James and shift points of emphasis heading into the 2024-25 season.

Here’s what we learned about Redick’s plan, and how it may be a difference-maker for the team.

What JJ Redick’s vision means for the Lakers

JJ Redick’s starting lineup makes more sense than Darvin Ham’s

The Lakers tried 19 different starting lineups last season, wasting time at the beginning of the year by starting Taurean Prince before finally settling back into the D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimua, LeBron James and Anthony Davis group that led them to the Western Conference Finals in 2023.

That lineup went 22-10 after Hachimura was inserted into the starting lineup on Feb. 3. That is equivalent to a 56-win pace, just one behind the No. 1-seeded Thunder and nine more than the 47 that Los Angeles actually finished with.

Redick cited that closing record to Zach Lowe, noting that the Lakers are going to play that starting lineup right off the bat in Game 1. That change alone should immediately have Los Angeles improving its seeding from last year.

JJ Redick wants to use LeBron James more as a screener

James is deadly with the ball in his hands, but Redick doesn’t necessarily want him starting with it. Instead, Redick hopes to utilize James away from the ball through screening actions.

“It’s funny because I think when people hear that in regards to LeBron playing off the ball, it doesn’t mean he’s not gonna have the ball,” Redick explained to Lowe. “LeBron is one of the smartest players, and I think using him as a screener and finding ways to get him the ball in specific spots on the floor where he can be a facilitator and scorer, that’s what I mean by being off the ball.”

One of those specific spots that James will be utilized is at the elbow. James has said before that when he catches the ball at the elbow, “it’s not for me to score — I see everything.”

James has been a terrific passer from that elbow area in previous years. It gives him the angles to throw a pass anywhere on the floor.

Getting James the ball at the elbows could also lead to more split cuts, which Redick has said is one of his favorite actions. That could lead to the Lakers playing a more motion-heavy Warriors style of offense, with cutters diving to the basket and shooters popping open for more 3s while James and Davis facilitate from the high post.

JJ Redick is going to create more analytically sound advantages

The Lakers had an average offense last season. They ranked No. 15 in offensive rating, 29th in offensive rebounding and 28th in 3-point attempts. Expect all of those to climb under Redick.

“There will be a decent amount of movement,” Redick told Lowe. “The shot profile will hopefully improve. We’ve talked about ways to get more paint touches. We’ve talked about ways to shoot more 3s. We’ve talked about some of the leeway you have to give certain players with midrange shots, whether that’s in the post or isolation.”

Redick does have an additional 3-point threat in rookie Dalton Knecht, who he called “in the one percent of shooters” and would “have a chance to earn a spot in the rotation.”

Aside from playing Knecht, it sounds like Redick plans to replace many of those midrange looks with 3s. Playing Hachimura more, who hit 42.2 percent of his 3s last season, should help significantly.

The Lakers will also focus more on offensive rebounding. “We’re really gonna emphasize offensive rebounding and corner crashes,” Redick noted.

The corner crash is a philosophy wherein shooters from the corners dive to the basket to pursue offensive rebounds. Hachimura should be the main beneficiary of that strategy change — he was a decent offensive rebounder with the Wizards and has good athleticism to grab contested boards. He saw his numbers fall under Ham, but he should see them tick back up with more freedom to corner crash.

Redick noted that these strategies would look a lot different from last year’s team.

“I’m not comparing that to a previous coach or system, but those are some of the things that will look like a team that I coach,” he told Lowe.

Those changes make a lot of sense. The Lakers have talent, and getting them to play a more modern style of basketball should usher in more wins this season.

The Realest: D'Angelo Russell And The Los Angeles Lakers https://t.co/EqPqPT0RRu

— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 25, 2024

Since rejoining the Los Angeles Lakers at the 2023 trade deadline, Russell has been a galvanizing force by being a stabilizing one. Whereas the Lakers were a tinderbox of bad play and worse feelings with Russell Westbrook running point, Russell allowed them to be a normal basketball team that plays good basketball.

Over the last two years, the Lakers have won 62 percent of their 93 games with Russell and just 42 percent of their 62 without him. During that same time frame, the Lakers have outscored opponents by 4.62 points per 100 possessions with Russell on the court, but been outscored by 1.82 points per 100 possessions without him. At the risk of oversimplifying things, Russell’s impact represents the difference between the Lakers being the Knicks and being the Bulls.

On the court, Russell is a study in control, both of the ball and of himself. Even if his 18.0 points and 6.3 assists per game seem somewhat pedestrian, he’s one of the most skilled guards in the league; the ball goes where he wants it to go. More and more, people (people, meaning Russell himself) are saying that he’s an elite shooter whose versatility and marksmanship are rivaled only by Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard. Last season, Russell was one of just five players to score more than 400 points on both catch-and-shoot and pull-up jumpers.

Beyond his perimeter shooting, Russell excels in all the areas where point guards are expected to excel. As a pick-and-roll ball-handler, he scored 5.6 points per game, the most on the team; his 3:1 assist to turnover ratio was also the best on the team. With the ball in his hands, Russell rejects the typical vocabulary of basketball. He doesn’t slash or glide; he oozes. He finagles. In the pick and roll, he lazes a trail around screens, maneuvering into the heart of unaware defenses; he finds space to launch a jumper like a cat settling down in a sunbeam.

Still, Russell has been a disaster in the playoffs. In the first round last year, Russell averaged just 14.2 points per game on 48.1 percent True Shooting, which somehow represented an upgrade from the 13.3 points (on 51.6 percent True Shooting) that he averaged in the 2023 playoffs. Facing the very best defenders, Russell is too slow and too slender to pose too many problems. Even during the regular season, Russell doesn’t so much create shots as find them, plucking the low-hanging fruit that permissive mid-January defenses leave for him. Against postseason defenses, though, he can’t muster the required dynamism—his open shots become contested ones, his contested ones are completely snuffed out.

More, Russell loses his purpose in the playoffs. During the regular season, Russell serves a necessary function as James’s spotter; James is too old to marshall every possession, so Russell’s ability to keep the offense afloat across 82 games is very valuable. In the playoffs, Russell is shunted to the periphery as James reasserts his primacy. When James and Anthony Davis are at the center of every play, Russell is unnecessary.

For whatever reason, Russell hasn’t yet figured out how to complement James. Theoretically, they should be an easy fit—both can capably pass, dribble and shoot; they threaten defenses in different ways and occupy different spaces on the court. It’s easy to imagine them bouncing off each other like a Pacific coast version of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, pushing defenses to their breaking point with their collective smarts and skill.

In this sense, Russell is an avatar for the complications of building around late-stage James: the players James needs to make the playoffs aren’t necessarily the same ones who can help him win once he gets there. Across the season, it’s probably smart to find ways to preserve James by taking the ball out of his hands when possible. In a single game, you should probably give the ball to James and get out of his way.

As such, Russell has a difficult job because he has two different identities, depending on the day. He’s James’ partner and his lackey; he’s the midpoint between frontman and footman. Co-star or bit part? For the Lakers to not squander LeBron’s final years, Russell has to be comfortable as both.

Yahoo Sports’ top 30 No. 2 options in the NBA:

1.Anthony Davis (Lakers)
2.Devin Booker (Suns)
3.Jaylen Brown (Celtics)
4.Bam Adebayo (Heat)
5.Jamal Murray (Nuggets)
6.Domantas Sabonis (Kings)
7.Kyrie Irving (Mavericks)
8.Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves)
9.Pascal Siakam… pic.twitter.com/uduCTBmCT6

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 25, 2024

JJ Redick was a guest on The Lowe Post podcast and here are some of the highlights:

on the starting five of D’Lo, AR, Rui, ‘Bron, and AD:

“I think in terms of what the offense looks like, there will be a decent amount of movement. The shot profile will hopefully improve. We’ve…

— The Lakers Review (@TheLakersReview) September 25, 2024

JJ Redick: Lakers Will Empower Anthony Davis To Win Big Awards https://t.co/Mt4Eh2KK5e via @yardbarker

— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 25, 2024

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis typically flies under the radar when it comes to NBA awards with him never winning Defensive Player of the Year despite being among the best defenders in the league for the last decade being a prime example.

New Lakers head coach JJ Redick is partly responsible for that as a former media member that voted on those awards. He notably left Davis off his All-Defensive ballot completely, which definitely could have bothered the 31-year-old.

But in an appearance on the Lowe Post podcast with ESPN’s Zach Lowe, Redick revealed that Davis didn’t even know the head coach didn’t have him on his All-Defensive ballot and that he wants to empower the star big man to win all the awards this season if he wants:

“Yeah, he had no idea what I was talking about. He’s like, ‘I didn’t’ even know that.’ … Spent some time with him, went to a lovely dinner in Santa Monica a few weeks back. We’re going to empower him as much as he wants to be empowered. If he wants to be First Team All-NBA and wants to be in the MVP conversation all year long, we’re going to empower him to do that.”

If Davis is gonna be in the mix for the big awards then it would help if he could find his jumper that has essentially gone missing since winning the 2020 Championship. Redick says he has a theory about what happened to it but would not divulge anything else:

“I have a theory around that. I have a theory around that. Not one I’m willing to share publicly…I have a theory around that. And you know what, if my theory proves correct, I’ll share it with you later in the season.”

Davis is coming off arguably the best season of his entire career and should be able to build on that in 2024-25 with Redick as his head coach.

The key for Davis is always health though as he will need to play at least 65 regular season games in order to qualify for all of the major awards. But if he is able to do that, maintain last season’s level of play and the Lakers remain in the playoff mix, then Davis should finally get some love from the awards voters.

Can D’Angelo Russell and the Lakers find common ground? https://t.co/gAHX484jOz

— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 24, 2024

Whether or not D’Angelo Russell is put on the trade block by the Lakers this season will surely depend on his performance.

No player on this current Lakers roster has a more complicated relationship with the front office than D’Angelo Russell. After playing a huge role for the Lakers in the regular season last year, D’Lo decided to opt into his contract this year — risking the possibility of once again going through what he did last season at the trade deadline.

But that’s not to say that’s exactly a horrid situation for both Russell and the Lakers. In fact, one can argue that there are far worse things a team can do than pay D’Lo $18 million this season. It’s just that this current situation the Lakers find themselves in puts both parties in a tough spot.

Russell is the Lakers’ most favorable trade asset but also their starting point guard. The 28-year-old is the team’s best 3-point shooter but also can be a defensive liability. Perhaps his best contribution to the table is that he makes LeBron James and Anthony Davis’ lives easier, but he’s inconsistent, which won’t work for a team with a minimal margin of error.

That’s why the biggest question for Russell and the Lakers this season is whether or not they can find common ground. Is Russell a long-term piece or someone who will just keep signing short-term contracts out of convenience?

Whether or not the combo guard will once again be on the trade block will surely depend on his performance this season.

What is his best-case scenario?

The best case scenario for Russell is for him to consistently produce as he did ahead of the trade deadline last season when he averaged 22.5 points on 48/46/85 shooting splits along with 6.4 assists. It’s not a coincidence that Los Angeles has a record of 24-7 when D’Lo scores more than 20 points. He’s at his best when he adds another dynamic to the Lakers’ offense by spearheading the offense, knocking down his shots and distributing the ball.

There’s also a scenario where D’Lo can thrive under JJ Redick’s system, especially since the latter said he plans to run more organized sets instead of random ones. If Redick can maximize Russell’s playmaking and shotmaking skills, then that’ll go a long way for him. After all, the question for D’Angelo has never been about what he can do on the court but his ability to show up when the team needs him to and make up for his flaws on the defensive end.

If Russell consistently produces at a high level, he can once again make the Lakers rethink their decision to trade him. It would even be better for him if he isn’t on the trade block at all, especially if the Lakers find a way to address the issues that come with having him as their point guard.

Ideally, Russell being a fringe All-Star or the team’s third- or fourth-best player throughout the season would do wonders for the purple and gold.

What is his worst-case scenario?

There’s nothing worse than Russell underachieving this season and that can only happen if his liabilities will be louder than his production. If, say, he averages below 15 points for most games and has a significantly worst shooting season compared to last year when he broke the franchise’s single-season three-point record, then that’s not going to be good for either him or the Lakers.

It also won’t be a good look on D’Lo if he continues to underperform in high-stakes games like the last two playoff series against the Denver Nuggets. Remember, the attention is always going to be on these types of games instead of a random one in January. And given Russell’s reputation, he can’t keep folding in these games to the point that his value depreciates. Especially not while he’s on an expiring contract year.

The absolute worst-case scenario is if Russell gets traded for the sake of being moved in exchange for pieces that don’t really improve the Lakers. That’ll be a big loss for both parties and the consequence of them not being able to find common ground.

What is his most likely role on the team?

While Redick has yet to reveal what his starting lineup would be, there’s no guarantee that Russell will be in it to begin the season. He and Austin Reaves weren’t exactly the best defensive backcourt last year so there’s a possibility that Gabe Vincent takes Russell’s spot if Redick wants to prioritize a defensive-ladden unit.

But either way, he will have a big role this season. He’s the best primary ball handler next to James and arguably the best shooter, so he’s going to see a ton of minutes right away. Russell will be in charge of spearheading the offense, getting Davis — who Redick said will be the hub of the Lakers’ system — involved and, more importantly, producing consistently on both ends of the floor.

Whether or not he does those three key tasks successfully will determine if he can find common ground with the Lakers moving forward.

Zach Lowe asked JJ Redick about Anthony Davis’ Bubble Shooting, what happened there, and whether AD just lives in the paint now.

Redick responded with:

“I have a theory on that. One that I’m not willing to share right now. But I will if I’m right.” 👀
pic.twitter.com/gFujIKauVe

— Lakers Legacy (@LakersLegacyPod) September 25, 2024