EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — JJ Redick said he will play his stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, at some point in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ first preseason games this weekend rather than rest them after their gold medal summer playing for Team USA in the Olympics.
However, Redick did not give specifics about just how much James and Davis will play when the Lakers host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday and the Phoenix Suns on Sunday at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California.
“Still talking through it,” Redick said Thursday after L.A. wrapped up its third day of training camp. “They’re going to play this weekend. But we’re still talking through what minutes and rotations look like for everybody.”
Last preseason, James sat L.A.’s first game and Davis sat in the third, with the pair both logging fewer than 20 minutes in game No. 2.
James and Davis have both beamed about how great they feel in camp so far, crediting their international experience and playing in the Paris Olympics with keeping them in tip-top shape heading into the season.
James being cleared to play will allow for history to be made with the first father-and-son duo to share the court in an NBA game if Redick chooses to play 19-year-old rookie Bronny James as well.
While Bronny James figures to spend time with the South Bay Lakers in the G League this season and is a long shot to crack Redick’s nine-man rotation, the new coach said he plans to experiment with a lot of different lineups during L.A.’s six-game exhibition slate.
Friday against Minnesota will mark the first game of the 40-year-old Redick’s coaching career.
Redick has already received rave reviews from some of his players through the first few practices for his preparation and efficient time usage.
“Today was a ‘tornado,’ that’s what [Redick] said,” Lakers forward Rui Hachimura relayed. “He was just saying that because we only had a one-hour practice so we were just going to go hard. … We just wanted it high intensity today, so that’s what we did and we had a really good practice.”
Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell, who struggled to connect with former Lakers coach Darvin Ham at times the past two seasons, praised Redick’s basketball acumen, as well.
“I’m not throwing shots at anybody … but I’ve never really had the opportunity to build a relationship with a coach over a long period of time,” Russell said. “For me to see how JJ is trying to bring the playcalls and just level of IQ into each practice and each film session, to see how he’s prioritizing that. I’ve always been a guy that wants to prioritize high IQ, [high-level] verbiage, [high-level] film sessions … like, let’s rise to that. And he’s obviously doing that. It’s something to look forward to.”
Russell said he was golfing this week and thought back to one of the plays that Redick implemented already in camp, and he felt compelled to reach out to his coach in between holes to share his enthusiasm.
“I was on the golf course and I was thinking about it and I sent JJ a little voice note,” Russell said. “Thanking him for putting that [play] out. I’d never seen it. I’m not trying to hype it up but I thanked him for showing me that. … I saw him getting into his bag right there and it’s exciting for players to notice stuff like that.”
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