Lakers news: JJ Redick drops harsh reality on Luka Doncic rebuild LA fans must accept

September 26, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

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LOS ANGELES – With LeBron James departing for the Philadelphia 76ers this summer, and Luka Doncic agreeing to a contract extension last offseason, the clock has officially begun in terms of the Los Angeles Lakers trying to build a title contender around their new franchise star. And as general manager Rob Pelinka mentioned during his preseason press conference on Thursday, this is a city and organization that demands excellence and expects championships.

But Lakers fans should pump the brakes a bit on expecting the team to flesh out a true championship roster around Luka Doncic with the snap of their fingers. The roster-building landscape has changed due to the CBA, and for Lakers head coach JJ Redick, putting a contender around the six-time All-Star is a gradual build rather than a quick fix.

“To me, this is not, and it will never be a full rebuild around Luka in one offseason,” Redick stated during the preseason press conference alongside Pelinka. “That’s not the way the NBA works, and particularly with free agency the way it is now. But I like everything we did the summer to build around him, to build around AR and to provide us with a ton of depth.”

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Once the offseason hit, re-signing Austin Reaves was the Lakers’ No. 1 priority. But after that, the focus became finding a franchise-caliber center whose game meshed well with the star backcourt. And the organization believes they’ve found their guy in Walker Kessler.

And the next area of focus was to improve the team’s depth with younger, more athletic players of varying skill-sets. Both Pelinka and Redick believe they done so with several free agent additions in Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Sexton, Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle.

“I think building a championship roster is an evergreen process. You’re never done with the work. You’re never satisfied. You’re always looking to perfect, add more, and so I think it’s a process-oriented goal that’s always changing. You’re never done building a roster,” Pelinka said. “So as JJ pointed out, there’s no offseason where you can check every single box you were hoping to check. But we felt like the major ones we did and the work continues. But we feel like we’re on the path of being a really competitive championship level team.”

The Lakers will be coming up on seven years since the franchise’s last NBA Finals appearance and subsequent championship. They have managed to make the playoffs in all but one of the six seasons prior, including a Western Conference Finals run in 2023.

But the expectation in Laker Land is winning championships, not simply making a playoff run. And Redick spoke glowingly of the incoming roster and about his belief that this is the most connected of a team he’s had since he took the job in 2024. Championships aren’t only won by the level of skill on the court. They’re won with habits and routines that are built behind closed doors. And Redick is firm in his belief that those seeds are going to blossom this year.

“Part of our mindset is going to be growth every single day and becoming a championship level team. No one is a championship level team on September 29. There’s not a team in the league that is a championship level team,” Redick said. “That is an ongoing process throughout the year. Rob talks about his job in that, I have a job in that, our players have a job in that. I’m confident we’re gonna develop as a team into a championship level team this year.”

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