The NBA calendar is currently at its quietest stage with regard to a player’s day-to-day responsibilities. Free agency is all but completed and training camp is yet to begin, meaning players like Los Angeles Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt and Cam Reddish are finding ways to get some on-court time next to one another that isn’t in a formal setting.
Offseason runs are a standard part of this time of year. Players will team up at various gyms around the country to put in some live reps as they prepare for the upcoming season. Sometimes, the big stars get involved, but it’s the role players who find themselves shining at events like the Rico Hines runs.
Rico Hines, a former UCLA basketball player and current assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers, is famous for organizing these types of scrimmages on the UCLA campus. And recently, Vanderbilt and Reddish paired up with some other Lakers G League players like Colin Castleton and took part in Hines’ runs, via pickuphoop on Twitter:
Jarred Vanderbilt and Cam Reddish hooping at the Rico Hines runs pic.twitter.com/KFibesYlJy
— pickuphoop (@pickuphoop) August 24, 2023
Vanderbilt figures to be a central piece in the Lakers rotation this season as perhaps the team’s best perimeter defender. He was the primary starter at one of the forward positions after he was traded to L.A. last season, and there is little reason to believe things would be different in 2023-24.
Reddish, meanwhile, may need to earn his place in the Lakers rotation. He is buried in a crowded guard rotation that includes D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, Austin Reaves and Max Christie and has struggled to find a consistent place in his previous destinations.
Perhaps joining Vanderbilt in runs like these could show his commitment to improving and being a trustworthy piece for L.A. this season.
Vanderbilt worked out in Greece with Rui Hachimura
Two of the main forwards in the Lakers rotation — Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura — were filmed putting in offseason work with Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy in Greece. Both players were working on their outside games, as they figure to see plenty of open shot opportunities next to LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers guards.
Lakers players are continuing to put in important work as they prepare for a 2023-24 season in which they figure to compete for an NAB championship. The Lakers are one of the major contenders in both the Western Conference and the league.
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