In the aftermath of a brutal first-round defeat, the Los Angeles Lakers will be asking some tough questions this offseason. For head coach JJ Redick, the team’s biggest priority this summer is getting the players in shape and fully prepared for another regular-season grind.
“I’ll start with the offseason and the work that’s required in an offseason to be in championship shape,” said Redick. “We have a ways to go as a roster. There were individuals who were in phenomenal shape, and there were certainly other ones who could have been in better shape. That’s where my mind goes immediately, is that we have to get in championship shape.”
The Lakers began this season with championship ambitions, and they had an impressive run in JJ Redick’s first year as coach. They went 50-32 in the deep Western Conference, despite the blockbuster trade for Luka Doncic that changed their entire identity in the middle of the season. Going into the next campaign, everyone knows that expectations will be high and that anything less than a deep playoff run will be marked as a failure for the team.
“I think LeBron is going to have high expectations for the roster and we are going to do whatever we can to meet them,” said Lakers GM Rob Pelinka via Dave McMenamin.
Under JJ’s leadership and the guidance of LeBron James, the Lakers adapted quickly to their new reality, and Doncic eventually found his place on the team. After a tough loss to the Timberwolves in round one, however, the Lakers’ season is officially over, and the hard work has already begun on making improvements.
This summer, we can expect the Lakers to add some depth to the frontcourt and replace Jaxson Hayes with someone more established. Unfortunately, with a limited pool of assets, the Lakers can only do so much, and they’ll likely have to look within for any significant improvements.
According to Redick, the best path to achieving the desired results is if each player gets in shape and improves their craft over the summer. While JJ didn’t give any names, it seems that some Lakers are not living up to his conditioning standards, and it could be why they barely managed to put up a fight in the first round.
Naturally, fans began to suspect that Luka Doncic might be one of the players that JJ was referring to, and it makes sense given his reputation out of Dallas. The whole reason the Mavericks traded him this season was due to concerns about his conditioning and work ethic, but reports say he’s changed since coming to Los Angeles.
Whether it’s true or not, the Lakers are on the outside looking in on the postseason, and at least some players weren’t as prepared as they should have been. This summer, with a full offseason to plan and communicate with his guys, JJ Redick intends to hold them all accountable and do his part to inspire a summer of growth.
At the end of his debut season, Redick had mixed results on the job, but he still feels good about where his team is headed. Assuming the players can stay in shape and Rob Pelinka makes some additions to the supporting cast, the Lakers will be set to ascend in the standings and build on what they accomplished this year.
