Coach JJ Redick confirms Lakers' starting lineup for 2024-25 season - "It’ll be the starting 5 that went 23-10 last year"
Rookie coach JJ Redick is expected to overhaul the LA Lakers' playstyle in the 2024-25 NBA campaign. However, according to the former sharpshooter, he plans to do so with the same starting five that experienced success last season.
Redick was hired in late June, transitioning from broadcasting and podcasting to coaching. Hailed as one of the league's brightest basketball minds, he has since touched on his desire to revamp LA's offense. That includes having his team shoot more 3-pointers and run additional plays through superstar center Anthony Davis.
The first-time coach took over a Lakers squad that finished seventh (47-35) in the Western Conference last season. It suffered a hard-fought 4-1 first-round playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets, with several players later remarking about how close the series was.
It appears Redick will attempt to build on LA's brief postseason run with the same starting unit. That featured D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and Davis.
On "The Lowe Post" podcast with ESPN's Zach Lowe on Tuesday, Redick confirmed he has no plans to tinker with his starters during training camp. He highlighted the lineup's strong play during the 2023-24 campaign.
"Yeah, it’ll be the starting five that went 23-10 last year," Redick said.
"D'Lo, Reaves, Rui, LeBron [and] AD?" Lowe asked.
"Yup," Redick said.
LA hasn't made any major offseason additions, rounding out its roster with rookies and two-way contract players. So, the decision probably won't come as a shock to Lakers fans.
Nevertheless, Redick put to rest any speculation about a starting spot being up for grabs in training camp.
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JJ Redick on his plans to restructure Lakers' offense around last season's starting lineup
As for how JJ Redick plans to utilize the Lakers' starting five, he noted that his offense will be movement-based and emphasize creating quality shots.
"I think in terms of what the offense looks like, there will be a decent amount of movement," Redick told Lowe. "The shot profile will hopefully improve. You know, we've talked about ways to create more paint touches. We've talked about ways to shoot more 3s."
After highlighting LA's knack for getting to the free-throw line last season, Redick added that this season's squad will focus on creating offensive-rebounding advantages.
"Outside of that, there hasn't been a lot of margin creation, so we're going to try to create some margins," Redick said. "One of which is, we're really going to emphasize offensive rebounding, corner crashes."
Redick appears to have high ambitions entering Year 1 of his coaching career. However, it remains to be seen if his seemingly innovative coaching strategies can elevate the veteran-laden Lakers into the upper half of the ultra-competitive West.
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