This Lakers season has been as chaotic as any in history. The highs and lows, dreams and nightmares, buzzer-beating wins and blow-out losses have been fast and furious. Suddenly, it’s now JJ and Rob in the hot seats.
Frankly, the last thing the Lakers should do now is panic and suddenly change their grand strategy because of three straight blow out losses that exposed the current starting lineup and rotation’s defense and chemistry. After all, the 19–10 Lakers still have the 4th best record in the West and the 6th best record in the entire league and their 10–0 record in ‘clutch’ games says something about their ability to exert their will and win close games.
What’s painfully obvious at this moment is that the Lakers’ young head coach JJ Redick is extremely angry and disappointed in how the team has played the last three games and appears to be ready to make big changes.
Complicating the situation is the bad news that the Lakers’ rising young superstar Austin Reaves will now be out for at least four weeks with a calf injury which the Lakers have no option but to be extremely careful about.
The Lakers’ grand plan has been to focus on rebuilding a championship roster around Luka Doncic next summer when they could have three first round picks to trade and $80 million in cap space to sign free agents.
There’s no question superstar injuries and LeBron working himself back into game shape derailed some of the early-team chemistry and late-game magic that Luka and Austin created that raised everybody’s expectations.
But that doesn’t mean nothing can be done. Let’s look specifically at what head coach JJ Redick could do right now to help the Lakers win games and what general manager Rob Pelinka could do to quickly improve the roster.
What Can Head Coach JJ Redick Do Right Now?
…
Lakers’ young head coach JJ Redick is obviously feeling the pressure as his defenseless Los Angeles Lakers not only suffered their third straight loss by blowout but also lost rising superstar Austin Reaves for at least four weeks.
There are definitely moves Redick can make with the players he currently has available that could improve the Lakers’ starting lineup’s defense and bench lineup’s offense and enable them to remain a top-six West team.
Unfortunately, unless the Lakers are willing to use their one available first round and second round pick, it will be almost impossible for them to find the elite starting 3&D wing and quality backup defensive center they need.
The silver lining of Reaves’ injury is it gives JJ an opportunity to give a Luka Doncic and Marcus Smart backcourt and a better balanced starting lineup featuring Doncic, Smart, Vanderbilt, James, and Ayton a chance to shine.
Replacing Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura with better defenders in Marcus Smart and Jarred Vanderbilt should greatly improve the starting lineup’s defense while Rui’s shooting should boost the bench’s offense.
The Lakers superstar-driven offense has also become too predictable and easy to defend with everybody standing around. The Lakers must embrace analytics and start running plays designed to get open threes and layups.
JJ needs to be careful as head coach not to lose this team, which really means not to lose Luka or LeBron. If there is one thing Redick needs to do to keep his job, it’s getting Luka and LeBron to buy in leading the defense.
The Lakers have an opportunity to see how a starting lineup of Doncic, Smart, Vanderbilt, James, and Ayton with backups of Smith jr., Vincent, Mañon, Hachimura, Hayes could fix some of the Lakers defensive issues.
What Can General Manger Rob Pelinka Do Right Now?
…
Rob Pelinka may have been a better fit as general manager of the smaller, less ambitious Buss family version of the Lakers than the larger analytics and data-driven sports business conglomerate Mark Walter is building.
In many ways, Rob’s a strange bird who through his relationship with Kobe was able to win over Jeanie. I just don’t see him happy going forward with a lessor role in a much bigger and more sophisticated Lakers’ front office. It wouldn’t surprise me if Rob were to resign as Lakers’ general manager. There’s no question Jeanie made sure he had a lucrative golden parachute as his reward for helping to build the Lakers into a $10 billion company.
JJ Redick and Rob Pelinka fully understand the extensions they received right before the sale don’t protect their jobs. There’s a reason why Mark Walter has brought in Dodgers’ execs Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi.
As head coach, Redick has more job freedom than Pelinka, who now has to convince an entirely new team of execs who will be a harder and more challenging sell than Jesse and Joey Buss or Kurt and Linda Rambus were.
Make no mistake, while Rob Pelinka will have a say, it will be Mark Walter’s team that makes the final decision whether to invest in winning this year versus positioning the team for a blockbuster bonanza next summer.
In the end, the Lakers have too good of a puncher’s chance with Luka and LeBron not to be willing at least to trade one first and one second round pick to provide an elite starting small forward and backup defensive center.
If the Lakers would use a first and a second to acquire Andrew Wiggins and Robert Williams, they would have a solid puncher’s chance of winning their 18th championship and still be positioned to pull off a summer bonanza.
Tom, you’re not wrong that this season has been a roller coaster, but calling it a full‑blown “midseason crisis” might be giving chaos a little too much credit. What we’re seeing is a team that knows it’s underperforming and still has the pieces to turn things around if Redick and Pelinka stop treating the roster like a puzzle missing half the box.
The highs and lows aren’t the problem—they’re the symptom. The real issue is consistency and identity. When the Lakers lean into pace, defensive pressure, and let their role players actually play their roles, they look like a team that can beat anyone. When they fall back into slow, stagnant, LeBron‑centric possessions, they look like they’re stuck in 2018.
JJ and Rob aren’t in the hot seat because the team is doomed—they’re in the hot seat because the window is still open, and everyone knows it. A smart rotation tweak here, a decisive roster move there, and suddenly the narrative shifts from “crisis” to “course correction.”
The season isn’t lost. It’s just waiting for someone in that front office to stop reacting and start leading.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Buba.
We’re 29 games into the 82 game season or 35%. We just lost three straight blowouts and our second or third best player just suffered an injury that will likely keep him out for at least 6 weeks. I consider that a major event for Lakers season.
Austin will be reviewed in 4 weeks and is likely to miss at least 6 weeks, which would take us to the February 5th trade deadline, at which point the Lakers will have played another 20 games to go with the 29 they just played. With 49 of 82 games played, the Lakers will have played 60% of their season.
Lakers grand plan is to optimize next summer when they will have at least 2 first round picks and 1 second round pick plus up to $80 million in cap space to sign their own free agents as well as other team’s free agents. With luck, Lakers could steal a couple of elite 3&D forwards in Eason and Watson from the Rockets and Nuggets with their cap space and maybe use the picks to sign-and-trade for Walker Kessler.
I believe they will use their one first round and one second round picks this season to get an elite 3&D starting small forward and a quality backup center who can block shots. Lakers willing to go-all in for this season but top priority will still be pulling off a summer bonanza by adding a half dozen 3&D players.
Thanks for responding, Tom.
I’m not sure any of the players listed can be had for those price points but I know I don’t have a ton of faith in Rob pulling it off.
Not sure what you can get for mostly broken down Gabe Vincent and Rui. Those are our best trade chips. Gets a little more interesting if, due to injury and contract status, they entertain offers for Reaves and one of those guys w/the 2031/32 FRP. Losing Reaves for pennies on the dollar hurts but not sure it hurts more than him signing a big deal and having a chronic calf injury. Trust the medical staff in that one. Which is an area I wish Mark was already throwing money at…
I don’t think Rob is going to be making any decisions on his own. I think the free agents added last summer were all approved by Walter’s transition advisors. Mark Walter has Dodgers top two execs overseeing everything that Rob does.
You also notice JJ referring to the guys upstairs who are feeding lineup data directly to him. Data is going to drive all decisions. The Lakers finally have a vision and direction. Get aboard or get left behind. I’m calling on a future Rob Pelinka resignation for sure. Sooner than expected but before next summer.
Next summer, Lakers get LeBron’s expiring cap space to sign their own and steal a couple of elite free agents. Mark Walter is going to want his general manager and head coach in place for next season. Rob and JJ are working for their Lakers’ future this season.
Not sure he ever did what with the Lakers Cabal that all seemingly had a vote on these kinds of things. Still, with Bob Meyers waiting for the call and right kind of deal, I’m hopeful Rob moves on soon. For every good move there are 3 that utterly backfired.