Talking to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Lakers head coach Jay Jay Reddick followed up on a pair of comments he made during his first pre-camp media session in September. at that time Reddick said he was confident in the Lakers’ ability to develop into a “championship level” team this season and that he felt for the first time since arriving in Los Angeles that “the pieces are actually coming together.”
“When I said the parts fit,” Redick said, elaborating on that last remark, “It’s more about having depth in addition to having multiple ball handlers Luka (Doncic) and AR (Austin Reeves), having more shooting, more volume shooting, having an elite rim protector – a combination of all these parts. And they are excellent full-backs. I have a lot of faith in our wing group. I believe in their protection. I believe in their ability to make open threes.”
As for Redick’s assertion that the Lakers will be a championship-caliber team in 2026-27, Amick notes that opposing scouts don’t necessarily agree with that assessment. The Lakers head coach might have offered a more conservative answer when asked about his expectations for his team, but he insisted Amick is optimistic. Rob Pelinka and front office assembled this summer.
“I watched these guys play” Reddick said. “I’ve played against those guys or coached them, and I also got to see (them) at our vet minicamp in Vegas (in mid-July). I got to see that all August and September.”
We have more on the Lakers:
- Walker Kessler (finger) and Colin Sexton (undisclosed lower-body injury) has yet to make his Lakers debut, but Redick expressed confidence Thursday that Kesler will play in at least one of the team’s two remaining preseason games and said he’s not concerned about Sexton’s availability for the regular season opener on Oct. 21 Benjamin Royer of the Southern California News Group.
- Mark J. Spears from Andscape and Dan Voike of The Athletic learn how Quentin Grimes ended up signing with the Lakers in the 2026 offseason, three years after he spent time in the Hamptons working out with Redick. The Lakers head coach was excited to add the wing, who he describes as an “elite two-way player,” according to Woike. “I have a lot of confidence in him as a scorer and shooter, and in his ability to beat Austin and Luka in this one.” Reddick said. “And then he’s proven that on certain nights when guys are there, he can go get 20, 25 points. It’s really a defense where we’re going to really challenge him and he’s been very receptive and wants to embrace it.”
- How Ben Horney of Front Office Sports writes, a legal filings related to the Buss family dispute disclosed the details of the agreement Mark Walter and Ginny Bass achieved in 2025 to continue with Ginny’s role as Team Leader. Walter agreed to take all steps “reasonably necessary or requested by Ginny” to keep her in that position for the next five years as long as she “or her affiliates” retain a 15% stake in the franchise. There is also wording that would allow her to become an alternate governor after five years as long as she “or her affiliated entities” still own at least 5% of the team. Ginny is currently mired in a legal battle with her five siblings, who want to sell the rest of the family’s stake in the Lakers.
- Chris Mannix of SI.com shares an in-depth story on Doncic, providing some behind-the-scenes details on the Lakers star’s offseason in Slovenia.