The Lakers started off the 2024 offseason by making significant moves to its coaching staff. After two years in charge as head coach, Darvin Ham was let go in early May. The Lakers organization felt it was best to move on from Ham and its coaching staff. After continuous rumors of potential head coach candidates, JJ Redick was officially hired as the Lakers new head coach in late June. With a very similar roster to last year, but a different coaching staff, the identity for the purple and gold is up in the air as to what it will be for the new season ahead.
New Identity for Lakers This Season?
Lakers Identity
With a new head coach and staff behind JJ Redick, it’s hard to pinpoint the exact identity of the Los Angeles Lakers. Redick has never coached above the youth level before. The coaching staff hasn’t worked together yet. There are still some reasonable guesses as to what this team could look like.
The first several months of the regular season in 2023-24, the Lakers were on a roll. The Lakers won the first ever NBA Cup. Injuries halted the momentum for the months of December and January. Around the All-Star break, especially around the trade deadline, the Lakers seemed to be figuring out their roles and identity as a team. The Lakers strung some wins in a row, just breaking through the .500 mark. These stretches of wins allowed for them to squeeze into the Play-In Tournament. Anthony Davis followed in a postgame interview by stating,
“We’re starting to establish that we’re going to be a fast-paced team, a team that likes to get into the paint, get to the line, but also be tenacious on the defensive end. Creating that identity for what we have to be moving forward. We can’t be coming back from All-Star and, ‘All right, what type of team are we?’ This is what we have to be. This is who we are. And we’ve got to make sure how we’re playing as of late, the past two, three, four weeks, keeping that identity and carrying it over into post All-Star.”
Defense & Off-Ball Movement
Many can come to the conclusion with Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent back strong and healthy, the defense is to excel. It has already been reported though that Vanderbilt may not be ready for training camp. These guys are major pieces to the team that were lost following up to this year’s playoffs. It was a big detriment in their series loss against the Denver Nuggets in the first round. They could not secure offensive and defensive rebounds, while defensively they were lacking on interior scoring and closeouts. When these defensive reinforcements are back in full-strength, expect the defense to play part in the Lakers identity. It could be similar to the 2020 champuonship Lakers run that was very profound for its defensive capabilities.
That is just a part of the purple and gold’s identity moving into the 2024 season. With new coach JJ Redick, you can expect more free-flowing movement with the offense in cuts and pin downs. A lot of off-ball movement, catch and shooting, and closeouts are going to be big for this roster. There are several guys that are staying in LA that will be used a lot through this offense involving Max Christie, Vincent, and Austin Reaves. A lot of this movement is going to create more spacing on the floor allowing for more consistent shot making. This is something Redick has emphasized that he wants more, shooting out of his team.
Last Word
The reality is though that there are many arguments to be made for whatever identity this team takes. It’s expected to be a slower start for LA. The early part of the season is going to be figuring out the identity of this team and molding the roster as a result. Of course with a new coaching staff, it’s going to take time to figure this out for the Lakers. Ultimately as the season moves further, expect this team to be faster paced, more shooting, paired with exceptional defensive efficiency.
