In his first official week as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, JJ Redick is not keeping any secrets when it comes to his rotation.
Redick already came out and revealed that he will stick with the starting lineup that ended last season of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell.
Then after the first practice on Tuesday, the head coach said he envisions the team having a nine-man rotation and discussed some of the bench players that will be in the mix.
“There’s a lot of guys that are gonna have a chance to play,” Redick said. “Like I said, I think beyond the obvious guys, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt when he’s healthy, Jaxson Hayes, Max (Christie), Cam (Reddish), Jalen (Hood-Schifino), I know I’m forgetting someone, it’s been a very long day. But there’s a lot of guys that are gonna compete for spots. I’ve always sort of envisioned a nine-man rotation in the regular season. So there’s definitely some competition for that ninth spot.”
Two names, in particular, that slipped the mind of Redick were rookie Dalton Knecht and center Christian Wood. Redick has already said that Knecht will have a chance to earn a rotation spot from the jump, so he will be in the mix.
Wood, on the other hand, is dealing with a knee injury and could miss the start of the season but will also be a frontcourt option whenever he is healthy and cleared to return.
JJ Redick discusses benefits of Lakers’ starting lineup
When speaking with the media ahead of the 2024-25 season, JJ Redick explained what he likes about the Lakers starting lineup he has chosen.
“I like the fact that in the games they played together last year, they were 23-10 with essentially the equivalent of a top-five defense,” Redick said. “I like the size a lot, particularly on the front line with Rui, LeBron and AD. And Austin is what I would say a bigger or slightly above average sized two-guard. So I like the size of that group.
“I like the versatility having three guys who can play with the ball in their hands. You brought up the systems, some of our systems will require players to be off the ball and that doesn’t mean standing around off the ball. It means being involved in screening actions and so far in some of the smaller settings we’ve done that… like AR is a great example.”