An offseason has come and gone and the Los Angeles Lakers are ready to welcome in a new campaign. They have a new head coach — JJ Redick — and some new ancillary pieces around their pre-established core, and they are hoping to improve upon the first-round exit they faced last season. They begin the 82-game uphill climb by facing the Minnesota Timberwolves at home for Opening Night.
The Timberwolves looked as though they were going to run it back with the team that made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals last season. But just before the start of training camp, they made a huge move, dealing Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and draft capital.
It was a surprise move from Minnesota, as they appear to downgrade on paper with the acquisition, but they do save financially in the long-run and add some draft picks to do it. Their first game will see them try to integrate the isolation-heavy Randle alongside Anthony Edwards and a strong Timberwolves core.
The Lakers made no major additions this offseason, but are likely to get contributions from a few new faces, including third-year guard Max Christie, the 2023 free agent signing Gabe Vincent and rookie Dalton Knecht.
L.A. is also likely to see the NBA debut of Bronny James and the first ever father-son court appearance in league history. Reports suggest that Redick will play Bronny to begin the second quarter of Tuesday’s game next to his father LeBron James.
Bronny is not expected to be a major part of the rotation beyond the historic moment, though, as Redick has held firm on ideas of a nine-man rotation. That is expected to include the starting lineup, alongside Knecht, Christie, Vincent and Jaxson Hayes.
The Lakers are without Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood and Christian Koloko for Tuesday night, the latter two of whom are not expected to be available shortly. Vanderbilt remains up in the air.
L.A. needs to improve upon their 2023-24 season to prove that a coaching change was the only necessary one. Otherwise, it could be back to the drawing board in the offseason. For Tuesday, their focus needs to be on Edwards, Naz Reid, Rudy Gobert and a Timberwolves team that is expected to have one of the best defenses in basketball.
Los Angeles Lakers (0-0) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (0-0)
7:00 p.m. PT, Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
TV: TNT
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Austin Reaves
SF: Rui Hachimura
PF: LeBron James
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: Max Christie, Gabe Vincent, Jaxson Hayes, Dalton Knecht
Projected Timberwolves Starting Lineup:
PG: Mike Conley
SG: Anthony Edwards
SF: Jaden McDaniels
PF: Julius Randle
C: Rudy Gobert
Key Reserves: Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, Rob Dillingham, Joe Ingles
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