3 Biggest Takeaways From JJ Redick & Rob Pelinka Presser Ahead of Lakers Training Camp

Ahead of media day on Sept. 28, Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick and longtime general manager Rob Pelinka spoke to the media on Thursday to talk about what has turned out to be a transformative NBA offseason for the storied franchise.

Although Pelinka and Redick spoke about several interesting topics regarding the team’s plans heading into the 2026-27 NBA season and what to expect from the revamped Lakers roster, three takeaways in particular stood out to me.

The Luka Doncic Era Has Officially Begun

Early in the press conference, following a moment of silence for the passing of legendary PA announcer Lawrence Tanter, Pelinka and Redick made it abundantly clear that a new era of Lakers basketball has begun, with LeBron James moving on over the summer to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers in NBA free agency.

The primary goal: Building a team around Luka Doncic.

Mar 27, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts after scoring during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“Re-signing Austin, putting together a trade to acquire Walker Kessler, and then building out our team with young players that could dribble, pass, shoot and have brought the average age of our roster to around 26 or 27, which lines up so perfectly with Luka and building the team around Luka Doncic,” Pelinka said.

Perhaps one of the most telling quotes about the team’s dedication to building around Doncic, whom he considers to be the “greatest offensive player” in the world today.

“Luka's the world's greatest offensive player and for us to be able to have an opportunity as a franchise, to have that player in our building every night as a 26-year-old is special and it requires us to do special things to build the team around him,” Pelinka said of the reigning NBA scoring champion. “And that's what we started this summer, and we're really, really happy with the way it's looking so far.”

Although this Lakers team likely isn’t a finished product and could take a year or two to really come into its own with Doncic leading the way, the team is off to a solid start ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.

Walker Kessler is Much More Than Another Lakers’ Offseason Addition

Outside of re-signing Reaves to a lucrative long-term deal, the biggest move of the offseason for the Lakers was landing Kessler in a sign-and-trade deal with the Utah Jazz, which is something that doesn’t happen much in the NBA.

Redick detailed why it was so important to bring in Kessler and how he’s the ideal fit to play alongside Reaves and Doncic for the foreseeable future.

“I think Walker's a perfect fit for Luka and AR, just in terms of his rim protection and really being an anchor for our defense,” Redick said of Kessler. “It's an era we've struggled with. … We look at him as someone we want close to the basket, protecting the rim. He's been an excellent rebounder throughout his career, both offensively and defensively.

“He's just the perfect fit for those guys and for building out the next phase of the Lakers.”

Clearly, the team prioritized acquiring Kessler and getting younger across the board, both of which were accomplished and could pay off in a big way if it all comes together the way Redick and Pelinka envision.

However, one of the primary concerns with Kessler is whether he’s in good health or is dealing with a lingering issue after playing only five games last season before being shut down to undergo surgery on a torn labrum in his shoulder.

Pelinka claims the team did their homework on Kessler and has been assured by the medical staff that worked on the talented young center that the shoulder surgery was likely nothing more than a “one-time fix” and shouldn’t be a lingering issue heading into his first season with the Lakers.

“In terms of Walker, we did such a deep dive into his medical,” Pelinka said. “We're so thankful for Chris Jones, his amazing staff. Dr. Neil Eltrage did his surgery. We work closely with Neil as well, great doctor, and Chris and Neil had ultra confidence that that was like a one-time fix, and so not a lingering issue or anything other than just getting his shoulder fixed.

Los Angeles Lakers player Walker Kessler Los Angeles Dodgers — Sep 3, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers player Walker Kessler throws out a ceremonial first pitch before a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“He's fully healthy, fully cleared, and look forward to him playing in a lot of games this year.”

Obviously, this is great news, as the last thing the Lakers want is a young player they’ve invested a lot in becoming an injury-prone problem, especially considering how much they’ll be leaning on in the paint in the years to come.

Lakers’ Training Camp Has REAL Stakes: Starting Jobs, Rotation Minutes & Potentially Another Roster Move

The major storyline heading into training camp next week will be who’s going to be in the starting lineup for Redick when the regular season gets underway on Oct. 21 against the visiting Golden State Warriors.

The third-year head coach made it clear that starting jobs are “up for grabs” moving forward.

“There's starting spots that are up for grabs,” Redick said. “I think we're going to have a highly competitive camp. … It's been a highly competitive gym, and I think we have enough perimeter defense. I think we have plenty of shooting and plenty of ball handling.”

Redick also made an interesting comment when talking about rookie Cameron Carr and his chances of cracking the rotation in his first season with the Lakers.

Sep 24, 2026; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick speaks to the media during a press conference at UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It wasn’t so much that Carr will have a chance to play as a rookie, but rather that Redick will have a deep rotation this season.

“We've got six or seven wings that have an opportunity to play,” Redick said. “We're going to play more guys this year. We're just naturally deeper.”

As if that wasn’t revealing enough about how Redick feels about the depth of this revamped Lakers squad, he also believes that this team fits together better than any roster he’s coached in Los Angeles thus far.

“I think with this group, probably the first time in my three years here that I feel like the pieces actually fit together,” Redick said of his new-look roster.

“We have high, high confidence in these guys that they're going to buy into that. And so it's going to naturally create a lot of healthy competition. And everybody at some point inevitably will get a chance to impact our team and impact winning.”

Sep 24, 2026; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka speaks to the media during a press conference at UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Along with Redick’s openness to giving his players opportunities, Pelinka provided clarity on his thought process for getting the roster down to the maximum of 15 players before the start.

“We have until opening night for the competition to sort of play out and see who the best 15 players are. Behind that evaluation of who's emerging in camp, there's also consolidation trades that can still be looked at, trading two guys out, bringing one in.”

With that said, there are definitely stakes for players on the roster bubble heading into training camp, creating a highly competitive environment and plenty of intrigue over the next few weeks before the season opener.

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