Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick used Thursday’s season kickoff news conference to settle part of the starting-lineup debate and swat away a summer of jokes about the roster’s makeup.
Speaking alongside general manager Rob Pelinka in El Segundo, Redick said he is confident in three first-unit spots heading into training camp. Those are widely understood to belong to Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and center Walker Kessler, who arrived in an offseason trade after Deandre Ayton left.
The remaining two jobs, Redick added, will not both go to white players.
“I’m pretty confident in three of the spots,” Redick said, via The Athletic. “The other two spots will not be two White guys. Those are the two things that’s not changing.”
The line drew laughs and appeared to surprise Pelinka. It was a direct answer to the “Snowtime Lakers” nickname that spread after LeBron James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers and the club kept or added several white players, including Dalton Knecht, Jake LaRavia and Sandro Mamukelashvili.
Stephen A. Smith and former players had already questioned how far a core led by Doncic, Reaves and Kessler could go.
Redick did not name the other two starters. Quentin Grimes, signed to a four-year, $60 million deal, is the most frequently mentioned candidate. Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle and others will compete when camp opens next week.
The coach said this is the first of his three seasons in Los Angeles in which the pieces feel as if they fit, with clearer roles after James, Ayton, Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimura departed. He rejected the idea of a one-offseason rebuild around Doncic and said the summer’s additions were meant to support Doncic and Reaves while creating depth.
Minutes and starting jobs remain available, Redick said, and he expects a highly competitive camp and preseason.
