The 2026-27 NBA season is quickly approaching, and Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick still has questions to answer before training camps begin Monday, Sept. 29.
Redick and Rob Pelinka, the team's President of Basketball Operations, spoke reporters to address where things stand from a roster reconstruction standpoint within the organization.
Redick was clear that guards Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves along with center Walker Kessler are all penciled in as starters for the upcoming season, but position battles remain.
As for the rest of the starting lineup? Redick joked, "The other spots will not be two white guys."
Pelinka stated that the team has three clear objectives for
the roster this offseason.
The first was re-signing Reaves, who agreed to a four-year, $180 million max contract in July. The team also had aspirations of acquiring a “franchise center” to play alongside Dončić.
Kessler signed a four-year, $130 million deal with the Lakers, but in order to secure the big man, the Lakers needed to send multiple draft assets to the Utah Jazz as part of the trade, including unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 and first-round swaps in 2028 and 2030.
Los Angeles went with a youth movement after LeBron James, the NBA's oldest active player and arguably still the league's biggest star, departed and signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Kessler is 25 years old, and wing Ziaire Williams is 24. Guard Quentin Grimes is 26, while guard Collin Sexton and forward Sandro Mamukelashvili are both 27.
Quentin Grimes is expected to serve as the small forward in the lineup while Jake LaRavia and Sandro Mamukelashvili will compete for the role as the starting power forward.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: JJ Redick addresses Lakers starting lineup then drops viral quote
