Key Takeaways

• The Lakers missed out on key offseason targets in their championship-or-bust pursuit.
• LA is focused on player development, as evidenced by a new staff and an emphasis on young talent.
• Players like Dalton Knecht, Max Christie and Jalen Hood-Schifino could play crucial roles in a Lakers playoff push.

They whiffed on Klay Thompson . Swung and missed on Lauri Markkanen . Got caught looking at Walker Kessler .

That doesn’t include losing out on more minor targets like Cam Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets or remaining potential acquisitions like Brook Lopez of the Milwaukee Bucks and Brandon Ingram of the New Orleans Pelicans.

The team’s star duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis showed what it can do in a sprint when the pair helped Team USA win a Gold Medal at the 2024 Olympics. The 82-game NBA season is a marathon, however, and the 39-year-old James and oft-injured Davis may no longer be built to run that marathon.

That makes the fact that the Lakers missed out on all their offseason targets all the more painful. Now, it’ll be up to LA’s veteran role players and young, unproven talent to help James and Davis push for another championship.

There’s a chance some of them are up to the task.

Lakers Putting Emphasis On Player Development

New coach JJ Redick and staff are preparing for the future

After a disappointing season that came on the back of a conference finals appearance, Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka made the decision to fire Darvin Ham. After a drawn-out search, Pelinka hired JJ Redick, a first-time head coach taking over a championship-or-bust squad.

As soon as Redick’s introductory press conference, Pelinka mentioned how player development will be an important part of the franchise moving forward, per NBA.com.

“We’ve had players come through the Lakers, like an Austin Reaves where you take him as a two-way player and convert him to a rookie contract and then see him get a big NBA deal. That’s such a gratifying journey when you can see the whole player arc unfold.

We’ve done it before, and we want to do it better and more consistently. … We feel like we have identified the DNA of the type of people we want to bring onto [Redick’s] staff, and at the core of that is just focus on PD (player development).”

The Lakers hired Ty Abbott as their lead player development coach. They hired a new head coach for their G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, Zach Guthrie.

While James and Davis are clearly the present, Los Angeles is readying itself for the future — which may become a critical piece of that same present.

Lakers Young Players Must Chip in On Playoff Push

Max Christie, Dalton Knecht, Jalen Hood-Schifino among critical youth

LA grabbed Dalton Knecht and Bronny James in the 2024 NBA Draft. While James is unlikely to affect the NBA team this season, Knecht is expected to play a significant role.

Knecht was projected to go much earlier in the draft but slipped to No. 17, where the Lakers seemed glad to select him. He should fit well in Redick’s system and is a much-needed floor spacer and scorer. He should be a critical part of the team’s rotation.

Then there’s Max Christie , who, before Knecht came aboard, was the young player with the most expectations on his shoulders heading into 2024-25.

Despite playing in only 108 games over his first two seasons, LA signed the 21-year-old to a four-year, $32 million contract that will keep him out of restricted free agency. Christie averaged 4.2 points in 14.1 minutes per game last season, so the Lakers are banking on his future skill set rather than his NBA production.

He’s two years younger than Knecht, but has already shown in limited samples to be a 40 percent catch-and-shoot player, an above-average rebounder at 6-foot-8 and a potentially strong defender. All that to say, he has the skill set to become a high-caliber 3-and-D wing.

Jalen Hood-Schifino is a 6-foot-5 point guard who could be called into action behind the inconsistent D’Angelo Russell and Gabe Vincent , who missed most of last season to injury.

Maxwell Lewis is another potential 3-and-D wing, even if he’s not as advanced as Christie in his development.

Then there’s Colin Castleton , a second-year center who played last season on a two-way contract and signed a similar deal before this season. The 6-foot-10, 250-pound former Florida standout averaged 14.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 blocks in 28.6 minutes in 14 starts in the G League last year.

He flashed dominant potential in the 2024 Summer League, finishing with five double-doubles, including an 18-point, 11-rebound game. He also had three assists, four blocks and two steals in that contest.

Knecht will be in Redick’s rotation this season, and Christie will likely make spot appearances, if not nightly ones. Lewis, Hood-Schifino and Castleton may not be regulars immediately, but they could factor in at some point this season as needed depth.

The Lakers will go as far as James and Davis will take them. But LA’s young players will be critical if that destination is the NBA Finals.