JJ Redick Makes Bold Claim About New-Look Lakers Ahead of Training Camp

Ahead of media day for the Los Angeles Lakers on Sept. 28, head coach JJ Redick and general manager Rob Pelinka spoke to the media on Thursday, fielding questions about the team’s offseason and what they expect from the revamped roster heading into training camp and the NBA preseason that follows.

Several topics were touched on during this press conference with Redick and Pelinka, including LeBron James’ departure, the many new additions to the roster, and what is envisioned for the immediate future.

JJ Redick: First Time ‘Pieces Actually Fit Together’

Perhaps one of the most interesting quotes from Redick during this presser was something totally unexpected from the third-year head coach.

Redick believes that for the first time during his tenure as the Lakers’ head coach, he feels all the pieces actually fit together, which is a bold and surprising statement.

“I think with this group, probably the first time in my three years here that I feel like the pieces actually fit together. And so those roles probably get even more crystallized.”

Clearly, Redick really likes the moves that were made over the summer, even though LeBron James left the team to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers in NBA free agency.

Along with believing this new-look Lakers team was put together perfectly for the first time in three years, Redick seems very open to giving every player on the roster opportunities.

“There's a very clear ask for you to be able to play,” Redick said. “And if you don't do those things, then you're not going to play. That's just the reality. We've already had some of those conversations this week with our players. 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.”

An interesting statement from Redick, who typically likes a tight rotation during the regular season.

Lakers Training Camp Will Be ‘Highly Competitive’

With Redick liking the Lakers’ new-look roster and willing to give opportunities to players from top to bottom, training camp will be an all-out battle with jobs on the line, which is bound to create some compelling storylines for this team over the next few weeks, leading up to the season opener.

The main storyline, however, is the starting lineup, which will look much different from last season, with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves as the only returning starters.

During the press conference, Redick made it clear that starting spots are “up for grabs,” as he anticipates a “highly competitive” training camp.

“There's starting spots that are up for grabs,” Redick said. “And so I think we're going to have a highly competitive camp.”

As of right now, it seems fairly obvious that Doncic, Reaves and newcomer Walker Kessler are locked in as starters for the season opener against the Warriors.

Those three in the first five are no-brainers.

However, the two other spots are where it gets interesting, with the three and four spots being open, even though Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili might be the favorites for those starting spots before training camp gets underway next week.

Personally, Grimes and Mamukelashvili are the smart moves initially, but who knows how things pan out during camp, as there could be some interesting battles for those two starting spots as Redick and company try to figure out who ends up sharing the floor with Doncic, Reaves and Kessler right out of the gate.

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