Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers play their third preseason game of the very, very young season Thursday night, but already some signs are shining through, giving glimpses of what this team could look like over the course of the '26-'27 campaign. 

There's a lot to be excited about, and great storylines to follow. It starts with Luka Donćić, a perennial MVP candidate and arguably the league's most elite offensive weapon. There's Austin Reaves, trying to take the next step after being given a massive contract. All the new guys, from Grimes to Mamu to Kessler who form what is a new core for this team, the first time they've had a group of players under contract for a long time. 

The young guys, Cam Carr and Adou Thiero, have shown promise, and could fill a void the franchise has had for a while, in terms of player development. 

Who is the fifth starter? 

Which players are most likely to pop in their new roles? 

What about new ownership? What about current management? 

Joining us to break all of this down is Mike Trudell, the great Lakers sideline reporter, radio host and now the author of his own Substack. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: Mike Trudell joins! 

SEGMENT 2: Starters and rotations! 

SEGMENT 3: Storylines you're most excited to see play out. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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In Monday's preseason opener, the Lakers were short a few important players, but still managed to put together a top shelf effort to beat Sacramento. 

One night later, they were down even more guys, and found the limits of what the remaining talent on hand could deliver. The Warriors took control early, and never gave it up in a game that was never close. Final score, 124-98.

The Lakers were without Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, Ziaire Williams, Collin Sexton and Matisse Thybulle. That's six of the top eight guys in the rotation. And not only that, the Lakers really played without a point guard, since Bronny was the closest thing they had to a one, and his shortcomings as a true lead guard are no secret. Were there highlights? Kinda. Sandro Mamukelashvili had a nice game, with 15 points. Quentin Grimes had a few moments where his ability to put the ball on the floor to score was on display. Adou Thiero had a spectacular dunk. 

But overall, this was a throwaway game in most ways, because the Lakers couldn't generate enough organization or offense to really work through stuff and try to make evaluations. 

Lakers will take the floor again Thursday, hopefully with more folks. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers sit ... almost everyone? Good move? 

SEGMENT 2: Harder to learn lessons. 

SEGMENT 3: What's next for the preseason? 

PHOTO CREDIT: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

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HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

PHOTO CREDIT: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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Well, that went about as well as you could ask. 

Luka Dončić dropped an easy breasy 21 points, the Lakers shot the lights out in the first half especially, and the defense came to play as the Lakers romped in Sacramento, 127-103. As you'd expect, JJ Redick spread the playing time around, and with Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton and Arthur Kaluma in street clothes with (non-serious) injuries, but basically everyone who played contributed. It gave a little extra time for some of the newer players to stretch their legs, and for guys like Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams (3-3 from downtown) Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili (two threes, five dimes, two steals) did some good stuff. 

Jake LaRavia, who had a horrible second half to last year, had a confidence building night, and the youngsters looked good. Cam Carr finished with 19 points, and Adou Thiero had a pair of steals and, this is cool, four assists, showing better feel for what's going on around him. 

We'll see what the Lakers put on the floor Tuesday night against Golden State. Certainly wouldn't surprise to see Luka resting. It's possible the guys who weren't in the lineup could be, or maybe it waits until Thursday. 

Strong start! 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Luka looks good, Lakers cruise in the preseason opener. 

SEGMENT 2: How about the new guys!!!

SEGMENT 3: The defense looks good. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

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The Lakers have a lot of needs going forward, and not a lot of ways to meet them. Not much draft capital, limited cap flexibility, and so on. 

So it's critical that their young, cost controlled players develop into real, useful NBA players. That starts with Cam Carr and Adou Thiero, both of whom could push for playing time this season if their improvement arc continues. But while those two are the most important part of the young player equation, the development challenge doesn't stop with them. The Lakers also would benefit in a big way from hitting on some of their two-way players, finding rotation-caliber players in players that weren't drafted. They've got a decent history in finding those guys, with Alex Caruso and Austin Reaves representing the biggest successes. 

So can Arthur Kaluma, Chris Manon and AK Okereke become the type of players the Lakers need? The organization seems to be approaching their two-way guys with specific positions (wings) and skill sets (athleticism, defense) in mind, as opposed to looking at positions where the big club might be thin this year and could use extra support with fringe NBA types that might have a lower ceiling. 

So what will we see in the preseason? How do all five of these guys fit into larger development plans? 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

PHOTO CREDIT: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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It's been a while in coming, but the new-look Lakers are going to play a game on Monday. Preseason Game 1, up in Sacramento. 

JJ Redick hasn't made it totally clear who is going to play in each game, or who has been held out of practices at different times, and all of that good stuff. So we'll need to see what the lineup looks like once that's announced. And who knows what the lineups will look like throughout the five preseason games. A dress rehearsal or two, likely. But beyond that, people want to know what the product is going to look like. What will the defense anchored by Walker Kessler look like? How much switching will we see? Will the team be a big ball pressure group? Try to interrupt the passing lanes? 

And what about the other end? Any clues about what JJ Redick is planning in Year 1 post-LeBron? How will the new guys be used? In what combination? Which guys will force Redick's hand for more PT? Which guys will give some away? 

Not all of that will be resolved on Monday night, but we'll start to see some clues. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers kick off the preseason! 

SEGMENT 2: What to watch for. 

SEGMENT 3: The preseason this year is... different? 

PHOTO CREDIT: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

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The Lakers have talked about using what they believe is increased depth, and people wonder if that means perhaps even expanding the normal 9-10 man rotation into 10-11, or even up to 12 guys? 

There are certainly examples of teams pushing those boundaries in an effort to play at a higher level of intensity. 

Of course, the only way for the Lakers to get to that number, realistically, is for Cameron Carr and Adou Thiero to force JJ Redick's hand and put them in the rotation by outplaying some of the other options. It's certainly possible, based on what we saw in the summer from Thiero and the skill set he brings to the team, and then the scoring/shooting capabilities of Carr that were on display as well. 

Could either of them be good enough to find regular playing time even if the rotation doesn't expand? Certainly possible, if not at the start of the year by the end of it. 

There's another question at play, too. The Lakers have to balance the need to win games -- this is not a rebuilding team with an eye towards the future, even with an awareness that more work needs to be done to build a true title contender -- with the need to develop Thiero and Carr. Some of that can happen in the G-League, but not all of it. Redick is going to need to give both guys meaningful opportunities to play and improve on an NBA court. That means putting up with mistakes, but even more than that, helping play those guys in ways that play to strengths and help hide weaknesses, with very specific instructions on what's expected in each shift. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

PHOTO CREDIT: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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The Lakers have a significantly different roster this season than last. That everyone knows. 

How it'll get used is an open question. 

Plenty of people think the team has a little more usable depth this season, especially if players like Cam Carr and Adou Thiero prove to be capable of handling minutes. The Lakers want to figure out how to use defensive oriented players like Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams. They need to get offensive spark plug Collin Sexton real minutes. Jake LaRavia played all 82 last year, and in the first half of them at least was productive. 

And on Thursday at practice, even Kevon Looney, generally seen as a guy not slated for much PT, was being talked up pretty significantly. 

Now, not everyone is going to play to the top of his potential. Not everyone is going to stay healthy. But for the time being, at least, Redick has the full menu available to him, and has to figure out how to use it. There have been a few teams in the last couple years who have tried to expand their rotation beyond the standard 9-10, pushing 11 and even 12 guys playing night to night. That can get complicated, but has some upside. Will Redick try that? Or will it be something where it's 10 (generally) on a nightly basis, but some of the names change? 

The players could make this decision easier, or they could make it a lot harder. Redick is surely rooting for the latter. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: What kind of rotation will Redick run with? 

SEGMENT 2: Is Looney really gonna play? 

SEGMENT 3: New PA announcer, new front office name. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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At Wednesday's practice, JJ Redick got a little reflective, looking back on his early days as Lakers head coach. He noted that while the confidence he could do the job was always there, at times it felt like cosplay. Not surprising, really, given that it was his first head coaching gig at any level beyond grade school coaching his kids.

That feeling, and an intense desire to try to control EVERYTHING going on around him is likely why Redick was, to say the least, a little tightly wound in that first season.

But last season saw a bit of a mellowing with Redick, and now entering his third year in LA (with two 50-win seasons behind him), Redick definitely feels more calm and at ease. That should, at least in theory, help him be a better coach. And it's a big year for Redick, who finally has a rim protector on defense and a roster he feels makes much more sense as a whole than anything he's had here before. So what will he do with it? How will the offense change? Will he find floor combos that maximize the team's potential, and of his role guys?

Plenty to look forward to.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

PHOTO CREDIT: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

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It's early, less than a week in. But listen to JJ Redick and the rest of the Lakers, and it's clear they're working hard to forge a real identify on both sides of the ball. 

Defensively, Redick has already talked about how the days of 1-5 switching are over with the arrival of Walker Kessler. It's going to look more like 1-4, but even then with some caveats. And just that change will make the Lakers look a lot different defensively. Add to that the constant talk of disruption and deflections and intensity, and you start to see what the vision is on defense. 

Offensively, Austin Reaves said Wednesday that the Lakers are looking to use fewer ball screens, which makes sense given that their two primary weapons function well, if not better, without them. Reaves described a more "free flowing" offense, and Redick noted how they want to expand the playbook a little in their early offense beyond what they did last year. 

Put it all together, and it feels like the Lakers want to take advantage of a roster that a) will be together (in theory) for a bit, and b) has a skill set they believe is more coherent. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: JJ is building out an identity, early. 

SEGMENT 2: Early plans for the offense and defense. 

SEGMENT 3: Why the Lakers can build it out a little faster. 

PHOTO SEGMENT: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

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