The Los Angeles Lakers‘ offseason was marked by a commitment to retooling around the pair of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. While fans of the Purple and Gold have only received glimpses of this new roster and how it fits alongside the team’s core players, the beginning of training camp marks the start of the Lakers’ chemistry-building process.
While the new-look roster has already started the process of getting to know one another, a result of the team trip to Slovenia organized by Luka Doncic, the training camp will prove to be a crucial period. After the first day of practice, Doncic had some interesting takeaways.
During his media availability after the practice, Luka Doncic addressed several topics. He began by speaking about the on-court chemistry, a vital aspect considering the multiple new additions to the roster.
“That’s a hard question,” he began. “I honestly don’t know, you know. Some things we’re going to figure out quicker, and some things we’re going to figure out later. But I don’t know. I feel like we had a great first practice. A lot of teaching points. So, I think it was a great first practice.”
The Lakers’ superstar was asked about the two potential starting spots, referencing comments made by head coach JJ Redick last week. While Doncic can provide valuable insight, he dismissed the question, suggesting that Redick was more capable of providing an answer.
When speaking about the level of competitiveness during the Lakers’ practice session, Doncic shared:
“Yeah, it was great. We mixed up teams. Like I said, the starting five, we don’t know who it’s going to be. So, we mixed up teams… We had a lot of fun. A lot of teaching points, and I think everybody felt like it was a great first day.”
Aside from questions about the team, Luka Doncic also fielded questions regarding his experience with the organization and becoming the undisputed face of the franchise. While discussing his growth as a leader, he commented:
“I mean, for sure. I had to be a leader before that also, so I keep repeating that I was already in this position. It’s nothing new to me. But I think I’m just my own leader. Like I said yesterday, sometimes you show by example, sometimes you show by words or how to play. So, I would just say I’m my own leader.”
In a follow-up question, Luka Doncic was asked about the Lakers’ new offensive approach and what he was excited about. He responded:
“I think we’ve got some great players, as I said. Obviously, Austin and I are at the head of the snake. But I think we’ve got a lot of underrated players that can prove a lot offensively and defensively, so I’m very excited for both.”
In many ways, Luka Doncic was impressed with everyone on the floor. However, when speaking about his new pick-and-roll partner, Walker Kessler, Doncic had some intriguing observations, stating:
“I think he’s an amazing player. He’s improved his offensive game a lot. Obviously, we know what he is on defense. So, just going to play with him excites me a lot.”
“He definitely opens up a lot, I would say [on] both ends of the floor,” he added. “But especially on offense, it opens a lot. Somebody steps up a little, and you just throw it up there; he’s there. It helps us a lot.”
Given Doncic’s experience of facing Walker Kessler and his rim-protection skills, the superstar holds the Lakers’ new center in very high regard. Still, it is apparent that the big man’s offensive upside is what Doncic is trying to tap into.
Aside from these questions, Luka Doncic was also asked about his plans for the preseason games, all of which he deflected, stating that he would need to discuss them with Redick. Still, when asked about entering his third season with Redick as his head coach and that relationship, he replied:
“It’s the same as before. I mean, we’re very honest with each other; we’ll tell each other things, and it’s just a great relationship. Obviously, I know him from before; he was my teammate. But that relationship has been great.”
For the most part, Luka Doncic’s comments on the first day of training camp weren’t overly optimistic, but they were also grounded enough to be considered promising. Thus, even though there is undoubtedly a lot of work to be done, the potential of this Lakers’ squad should give fans a reason to be excited for the new season.
