EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — A few hours after media day wrapped Monday afternoon, the Los Angeles Lakers reconvened in Beverly Hills in the evening to discuss the team’s identity for the 2024-25 season.
JJ Redick and his coaching staff presented their players with their vision on both sides of the ball, their team values and their ground rules. The goal was to set clear standards for the players and allow the team to focus on implementing those new schemes on the first day of practice rather than walking through them and wasting court time.
“Just setting the standard, setting the course of action and how we expect to play every single night — no matter who is playing,” LeBron James said of the team meeting. “It’s not about who is playing, it’s about what we want to do every night. We want to play the same way every single night.”
James, who undoubtedly shares basketball sensibilities with Redick, has co-signed his former podcast partner early on, praising Redick’s seriousness and thorough process.
A lack of structure and organization were common internal grievances about the previous coaching staff from both players and the front office last season. Redick, who was maniacally obsessed with time and efficiency as a player, has made it a point to address those areas early in his coaching tenure.
“One of the things that I’m big on is using time efficiently,” Redick said. “I haven’t been around LeBron a ton, but I know that’s big for him as well. And I think as any NBA player will tell you, they really value their time. And I did not want to take time today to have some long meetings.”
The Lakers practiced for over two hours Tuesday, installing after-timeout sets and then scrimmaging and competing in live-action drills over the final 45 minutes. Redick divided the players into six lineups across three half-court games, experimenting with various units and combinations.
“I would say our preparation bore fruit,” Redick said. “It was a very productive day. I thought our guys came with a really high level of focus and intent. And all of the things that we’ve talked about over the last six to eight weeks, and the things that we talked about yesterday, were reflected in how we played basketball today. There’s a lot of good things to take away from today.”
During practice, and afterward, while players worked on shooting and three-on-three drill work, the Lakers had DJ Meel mixing a combination of old-school and modern rap. The vibes, even by first-day-of-camp standards, were more upbeat than they were entering last season.
“Great day,” James said matter-of-factly. “Great first day.”
First day of Lakers training camp, including LeBron James, Bronny James and Max Christie shooting together off to the side pic.twitter.com/cgoXLyf14k
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 1, 2024
Max Christie, who Redick said has already earned the trust and confidence of the coaches, said that the staff’s purposeful direction has been effective.
“The biggest thing is we’ve been super organized and we’ve been super good at kind of upholding discipline at times,” Christie said. “We’re being really efficient with our time. That’s kind of a keyword he’s been using for everybody throughout the whole offseason, just being efficient with our time that we’re in here.”
Scrimmage standouts, according to Redick, included Max Christie and second-year guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, who had been out since March due to back surgery.
James echoed Redick’s praise of Christie, the third-year wing that the Lakers heavily invested in by signing a four-year, $32 million contract this season.
“Fantastic,” James said of Christie. “I think Max will be a big part of our rotation. He’s gotten better and better and I’m happy we were able to bring him back in the summertime. I look forward to a bright season from him.”
Redick revealed he plans on using a nine-man rotation during the regular season.
With the starting lineup of Anthony Davis, James, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell set, that leaves Gabe Vincent, Christie, Jarred Vanderbilt (once healthy), Jaxson Hayes, Christian Wood (once healthy), Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis to compete for the final four rotation spots.
“There is definitely some competition for the ninth spot,” Redick said.
Given Vanderbilt and Wood are out through at least training camp, the initial indications are that Vincent, Christie, Knecht and Hayes are the early favorites to earn the four bench spots to open the season. But Reddish’s perimeter defense could be needed without Vanderbilt, and the rotation will be ironed out during preseason games and practices over the next two to three weeks. Reddish (soreness) was the only official roster player to not participate on Tuesday.
James said it’s too early to set expectations for the team, noting that they’re still in the nascent stages of picking up the new coaching staff’s system.
“I don’t have any expectations and that’s unfair to put any expectations on us right now,” James said. “The only thing that we can count on each other is how we come to practice and come to work every day. And trust the process and get better every day. And that’s what it’s about.”
(Photo of James: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
