Apr 22, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) leave a court after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-85 in game two of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Lakers Roster Already Has ‘Tension Simmering’, Says Insider

Originally posted on Los Angeles Lakers on SI
By Jason Fray | Last updated Oct 11, 2025 12:30 PM ET

Building cohesion and camaraderie during training camp is the goal for any NBA franchise.

Where teams can get derailed from achieving this goal is going through this period without several key members of the expected rotation. This is currently the situation going on with the Los Angeles Lakers.

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LeBron James has been battling a glute injury, and a recent report seems to indicate that he could miss 3-4 weeks of the upcoming season with a sciatica issue.

Marcus Smart, brought in to be the team's defensive stopper, hasn't played in any of the preseason games. He's working his way back in training from Achilles tendinopathy. The hopes are that he features in Sunday's game versus the Golden State Warriors.

NBA reporter Jovan Buha broke down this injury situation with the team during one of his weekly podcasts. Buha, a long coverer of the Lakers, revealed that there's some annoyance within the team having not been able to practice with the full roster.

'A Little Frustration Simmering'

“There’s a little frustration simmering. I think there’s a little tension simmering, with this whole situation of not having everyone available,” Buha said on his podcast "Buha's Block." “To be clear, I don’t think anyone’s at fault, I just think the situation is collectively frustrating. It has just been every day, something else. The Lakers have not been able to get a clear picture of what this group looks like.”

Another key aspect of this situation is installment. This involves schemes on both ends of the floor. Of course, building on-court chemistry is a real factor.

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The primary passers of the basketball, in this case James and Luka Doncic, learn on the fly as to where new teammates (namely Deandre Ayton) will want to catch the basketball. Practice time enables them to get a feel for how these teammates cut and move with/without the basketball.

Deandre Ayton says he hasn't gotten a chance to practice with LeBron & Luka yet

Bron remains out with nerve irritation in his glute while Luka continues to rest pic.twitter.com/j8yjYOfHkR
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 9, 2025

The installment of offensive and defensive schemes are made much more difficult when you've got one of your most important offensive pieces (James) and defensive pieces (Smart) not able to fully participate.

With the season right around the corner, it'll be very fascinating to see how the group can gel in the wake of not having James for the foreseeable future.