5 Takeaways From Lakers' Season-Opening Press Conference

1. When will LeBron James retire?

The Lakers don’t know the answer to that question, and they don’t plan to probe James on that. The media can take care of that duty.

“The first thing we want to do in terms of LeBron and his future is just give him absolute respect to choose his story with his family in terms of how many years he’s going to continue to play,” Pelinka said. “He’s earned that right. He’s the best one to talk about that in terms of how many years he’d like to play. But we’ve been very intentional this summer in terms of the pieces we add with Luka and LeBron. Once LeBron opted in, we made sure that they had the necessary pieces around them to be on a really competitive, strong team.”

James exercised a $52.6 million player option last summer to play for the Lakers in the 2025-26 season, marking the first time he will play for the Lakers with a final year of his contract. Should James decide eventually that he wants to play beyond his current contract, would the Lakers welcome him back for the 2026-27 season?

“We would love it if LeBron’s story would be that he retired a Laker,” Pelinka said. “That would be a positive story.” 

2. What is James’ temperament going into the season?

James sparked speculation that he would not retire as a Laker and that he would eventually ask for a trade after his agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN and The Athletic last summer that “LeBron wants to compete for a championship.” So do the Lakers, but they have also stressed they would not make “win-now moves” that may compromise their long-term flexibility.

Redick didn’t sound concerned after having dinner with James in the Hamptons sometime around free agency and recently in LA.

“I came away from that thinking that he's in a great spot mentally,” Redick said, “and know he's going to give us his absolute best."

3. How will a motivated and better-conditioned Luka look in his second season?

The Lakers are just as bullish on Dončić after seeing him improve his conditioning this summer and visiting him in Poland while playing in EuroBasket for the Slovenian national team.

Since acquiring Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks before last season’s trade deadline, the Lakers became more encouraged with his improved training habits, increased vocal leadership and enthusiasm for wearing their uniform.

“He's just a genuine guy,” Pelinka said of Dončić.  “That's a great leadership quality, when people feel like they really know your heart and what you think and your beliefs. And so the more times we spent with Luka, the more genuine and impactful he is. So that was something that really developed with our touch points over the offseason.”

One of those touchpoints entailed how Dončić can establish more chemistry with the Lakers' other star (James) and their valued role player (Austin Reaves). Last season, the dynamic sometimes looked seamless. Dončić mostly ran the offense, while James thrived off the ball. Reaves defended partly to shield Dončić’s weaknesses. Other times, the dynamic looked clunky. Particularly during the Lakers’ first-round playoff exit to Minnesota, the Lakers’ offense stalled due to isolation-heavy plays and fatigue.

“In a team sport, you have no choice but to share: share the basketball, share the spotlight,” Redick said. “I think all those three guys have a ton of respect for each other’s skill sets and for each other’s abilities.”

4. How will Redick build off his first season?

Professional sports teams often praise their first-year head coaches through whatever successes or challenges that they experience. Rarely do professional sports teams grant a contract extension, however, to a coach after one season.

Hence, Pelinka surprised plenty of reporters when he shared that the Lakers recently granted Redick an extension. Why now?

“Confidence and belief,” Pelinka said. “We think he’s a special coach with a special voice that’s really helping us define the culture of Lakers excellence. We just wanted to make a clear statement that this is what we believe in, what we’re going to lean into and what our players are going to mold into as we continue to develop the identity.”  

Redick expressed “gratitude” for the Lakers’ continuous support. But after leading the Lakers to a No. 3 seed only to experience a first-round playoff exit in five games last season, Redick spent the offseason evaluating how he can yield better returns for his second year. That included talking with Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, former NFL quarterback Tom Brady and unnamed NBA coaches on how they sharpen their craft.

Redick didn’t share specifics, but he suggested he will have a fluid starting lineup outside of James and Dončić. Redick also added he will better manage the emotional swings of an NBA season without compromising his competitive edge. Regardless, the Lakers became increasingly impressed with Redick’s preparation, how he presented information to players and how he leaned on his experience as a valued NBA role player (2006-21).

“As a player, I had the same interest in people that I have as a coach,” Redick said. “So my ability to care about people and develop relationships with people, that hasn't changed.”

5. Do the Lakers have the right roster for James, Dončić?

Will the Lakers become aggressive leading into the Feb. 6, 2026 trade deadline? It depends.

“If a transaction comes to us that leads to ‘sustained Lakers excellence’ and puts us in the position to increase our odds of winning a championship,” Pelinka said, “we would put future draft capital in to make that move.”

It seems unrealistic for the Lakers to acquire a player of Dončić’s caliber without gutting their roster. People still haven’t gotten over Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison for doing that. But the Lakers will make a move if it significantly improves their championship chances.

For now, though, Pelinka sounded bullish that the Lakers made enough moves to make life easier for James and Dončić. After lacking a consistent center without Anthony Davis following the trade deadline, the Lakers acquired a lob threat who remains eager to prove he can play up to his potential (Ayton). The Lakers love Reaves’ work habits, his competitiveness and continuous improvement as a defender and playmaker. Though the Lakers lost a valued perimeter defender to free agency (Dorian Finney-Smith), they still have Rui Hachimura, and they acquired Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia.

Each player yields question marks about their consistency (Ayton, Hachimura), health (Smart) and athleticism (LaRavia). But they boast a lot of upside with their two-way versatility (Ayton, Hachimura), defensive and leadership credentials (Smart) and outside shooting (LaRavia).

“JJ and I have a high level of confidence in this group,” Pelinka said. “Early in the season, we're going to get a sense of where some of the needs might arise. I think as a general rule, we've talked before, you take 20-25 games to kind of see what the makeup of your team looks like and see where it's at. And then you start evaluating those roster moves. But we feel good about the optionality.”