West Notes: Lakers, Jake LaRavia, Pelicans, Saddiq Bey, Timberwolves

Lakers

The Lakers quietly signed Jake LaRavia to a two-year deal in free agency, and while the move didn’t make headlines, the team believes the 23-year-old forward can be a meaningful part of its future, writes Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Times.

“To get a young player — a young player in free agency for a team that is trying to win a championship — it’s an incredible opportunity for myself and our player development department to have him continue to grow,” coach JJ Redick said. “Jake, I’m very high on him. His level of commitment to what we’ve asked of the guys this offseason has been very high.”

Meanwhile, Christian Koloko said he’s noticed a more driven mindset from this year’s roster.

“You can just see that everybody is more hungry,” Koloko said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “We knew what we did last year, we could have done better. We want to do better. We want to win the championship. Everybody knows what it takes to get to that next level.”

Pelicans

Jordan Poole may have been the headliner of the Pelicans’ offseason trade with Washington, but Saddiq Bey could end up being a key piece too.

Returning from an ACL injury that cost him the entire 2024–25 season, Bey is already drawing praise in camp, reports Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com.

“He’s sort of that Swiss Army Knife type of player,” coach Willie Green said. “He can play multiple positions, score, post up, defend, rebound. Those guys are extremely valuable to a team’s success.”

Timberwolves

For the Timberwolves, this season is at least partially about some internal development, particularly from Rob Dillingham, Terrence Shannon Jr., and Joan Beringer, as highlighted by Bobby Marks of ESPN.

Minnesota traded a future unprotected first-round pick to San Antonio with the hope that Dillingham could eventually replace Mike Conley Jr. He had an uneven rookie year, appearing in just 49 games and averaging 10.5 minutes per contest.

With Conley in the final year of his deal, Minnesota needs Dillingham to become a reliable rotation piece.

Shannon flashed promise late last season, averaging eight points and shooting over 51% in 12 regular-season games, then posting 22.7 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists per game in summer league.

Beringer turned heads in his debut with 10 blocked shots, and he could earn a role behind Rudy Gobert.

Key dates include October 20, the deadline to extend Donte DiVincenzo, and October 31, the deadline to exercise third-year options on Shannon and Dillingham.

While Minnesota is partially focused on youth, we’re talking about a team that’s been to back-to-back Western Conference finals. So getting over that hump remains a priority, and frankly, fairly doable.