Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick revealed before Wednesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs that Jake LaRavia was the first player he called in free agency this past summer. Redick believed LaRavia would be a good fit with the team, and it appears he made quite an impression during that phone call.
LaRavia’s agent, Aaron Reilly of AMR Agency, revealed on X how Redick and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka convinced his client to join the Lakers.
“The level of detail JJ and Rob went into on that call was unmatched. JJ knew his game better than anyone. I actually thought Jake was going to end up on another team. However, as soon as we hung up, Jake, [Reggie Berry] and I knew LA was the spot for Jake. Amazing moment.”
That is indeed how you should approach a free agent. Infamously, LaMarcus Aldridge rejected the Lakers back in 2015, in part because their pitch focused too much on marketing rather than basketball.
A mistake like that would have proved costly here as well, but Redick and Pelinka didn’t go down that route. The focus was on basketball, and they won over LaRavia and his agents with just how detailed they were.
LaRavia, who had spent the 2024-25 season with the Memphis Grizzlies and the Sacramento Kings, would end up signing a two-year, $12 million deal with the Lakers early on in free agency. While he has proven to be a good signing now, not everyone was a fan of the team’s decision to bring him in at first.
Notably, former NBA player and Lakers fan Gilbert Arenas ripped the team for signing LaRavia so quickly. Arenas stated he had never seen a bench player be signed so fast, but Damian Lillard told him they were getting a good one. Lillard knew what so many others didn’t.
LaRavia is now averaging 12.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2025-26. The 24-year-old has been efficient as well, shooting 55.6% from the field and 41.2% from beyond the arc.
LaRavia has had two 25-point outings this season and is proving to be a quality addition to the Lakers. He isn’t necessarily a game-changer, but he is a good player to have in the rotation.
JJ Redick Not Surprised By Jake LaRavia’s Contributions
While many on the outside might have been surprised by LaRavia’s play, Redick hasn’t been. Here’s what he had to say about the forward in his press conference before that game against the Spurs.
“I’m not surprised,” Redick began. “There’s a reason he was the first person I called in free agency. I felt like he could do a lot of things at a high level, and so many times in this league we have the superstar and then we have the specialist. A lot of roster construction works that way.
“And frankly, there’s not a ton of guys that don’t fall into one of those two archetypes, whether you’re a rim-running, rim-protecting big, you’re 3-and-D guy, you’re movement shooter, you’re on-ball defender,” Redick said. “There’s all these archetypes, there’s not a lot of archetypes for the guy that kinda can do a little bit of everything really well.
“That’s why, I’m not comparing him to Josh (Hart), but Josh for New York has been that for a number of years,” Redick continued. “Where he just does a lot of stuff every single night. Sometimes Jake can impact a game without scoring double figures. There’s not a lot of guys in the league like that, so was really excited to get him.
“I think the growth area for him is just continuing to evolve as a higher-volume shooter with efficiency,” Redick added, “He obviously shot over 42% [from three] last year, but it’s on a lower volume. He’s a guy that I think can be, when we’re healthy, a 25 to 30-minute-a-night guy. He’s going to get a lot of open looks in addition to all of the other stuff he’s gonna get.
“But he’s gonna get a lot of open looks when we’re whole, and so just continuing to evolve as an efficient high-volume 3-point shooter, and that’s not gonna take away from all the other stuff he does,” Redick concluded.
It will be fascinating to see how LaRavia operates when the Lakers are fully healthy. He has managed to step up at times amid all these injuries, and he’ll find life on the court much easier when he plays alongside LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves.
The Lakers and LaRavia are in action next against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center on Monday at 7 PM ET.
