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Los Angeles Lakers rookie head coach JJ Redick has been straightforward with how his rotation would look in his first year on the job.
His starting lineup is set — D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James and Anthony Davis — as Redick revealed in the now-defunct “The Lowe Post” podcast on September 25.
Who will comprise the Lakers bench is the next big question that Redick happily obliged to answer during the training camp.
“There’s a lot of guys who are going to have a chance to play,” Redick told reporters Tuesday, October 1. “And as I said, I think beyond the obvious guys — Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt when he’s healthy, Jaxson Hayes, Max [Christie], Cam [Reddish] and Jalen [Hood-Schifino], I know I’m forgetting someone. It’s been a very long day, but a lot of guys are going to compete for spots.”
Rookie Dalton Knecht, whom Redick touted in “The Lowe Post” podcast as among the one percent of shooters in the NBA, is likely the player he forgot to mention.
Knecht completes the seven players vying for the last four rotation spots.
“I’ve always sort of envisioned a nine-man rotation in the regular season,” Redick continued. “So there’s definitely some competition for that ninth spot.”
Vincent, Vanderbilt and Hayes have the edge as veterans, while Christie has the biggest chance among the young players to earn the final spot in Redick’s nine-man rotation.
Max Christie is Ready for Consistent Role
The Lakers have invested in the 21-year-old Christie, signing him to a four-year, $32 million extension last summer.
Christie averaged only 3.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 13.8 minutes off the bench in his first two seasons in the association under Lakers’ erstwhile coach Darvin Ham.
That is bound to improve under Redick, if he continues to impress in the training camp.
Christie, the 35th overall pick in 2022, has been preparing for this moment.
“I think the first two years for me, I got a little bit of experience under my belt,” Christie told reporters during the Lakers’ media day. “But I think the biggest thing is I’ve been able to observe some of the highest-level athletes that we have on our team and how they go about their business. And for me to be able to learn that and see how they’re doing it, hopefully this year for me, when I earn a rotation spot I can come in and implement that. Try to impact the game as much as possible.”
Lakers’ Championship Goal
Despite the lack of significant addition to the Lakers’ roster, Christie said the Lakers’ goal remains the championship.
“We have a really good team this year and the goal for us is always a championship,” Christie said. “So in any way that I can contribute to that, I’m looking forward to doing that. The last two years of observing us winning at a high level, we’ve been to the playoffs both years, so just trying to add to that.”
Four seasons removed from their last championship, the Lakers are hoping that Redick, their third head coach over that span, could guide them back to the top.
“JJ has done a really good job to start definitely imposing himself as a coach,” Christie said of Redick. “He’s trying to do a really good job of making a good impression on us, as players.”
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