https://t.co/Z82PS5e9qD pic.twitter.com/47kBfSY2Xn— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) November 4, 2025
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Kendrick Perkins: ‘Luka and Reaves are Best Duo in Basketball’
It’s almost impossible to predict the draft capital in trades. Bill Simmons thinks the Lakers can get Herb with Knecht, Kleber, and a 2031 first. Yet Luka only got a first and Desmond Bane 4 firsts. It’s worth a shot. I like him better as a long-term fit with Luka’s window.
No LeBron, No Luka, No Austin tonight vs. Trailblazers
🚨LAKERS INJURY REPORT VS BLAZERS 🚨Luka Doncic is OUT (lower leg)Austin Reaves is OUT (groin)LeBron James is OUT (right sciatica)Adou Thiero is OUT (knee)Gabe Vincent is OUT (ankle)Deandre Ayton is QUESTIONABLE (back)Maxi Kleber is QUESTIONABLE (abdominal) pic.twitter.com/MJDj2oxv3b— ReavesMuse (@MuseReaves) November 3, 2025
How JJ Redick Has Lakers Off To Impressive Start Despite Injuries
Despite injuries to LeBron and Luka, JJ Redick has the 5–2 Lakers playing championship caliber basketball, looking to win their fourth straight game in Portland tonight while setting a pace that translates to a 60-win season.
The Lakers’ 130–120 wire-to-wire win over the Heat with their #5 defense showcased how solid L.A.’s supporting cast is as Doncic and Reaves had subpar games but got major help from LaRavia, Smart, and Hayes to win. While it’s ironic to call a +14 29/11/11 triple double from Luka and +7 26/4/11 game from Austin as ‘subpar’, L.A. did need +17 15/5/1/1/1 from Hayes, +8 25/5/8/4/0 from LaRavia, and +11 3/4/2/1/0 from Smart to win.
Redick has the Lakers off to a strong start winning five of seven with nearly every player on the roster exceeding expectations despite James already missing seven, Smart four, Doncic three, and Ayton two games to injuries.
The wins and how every player L.A. retained or signed this offseason, has exceeded expectations, including Doncic, Reaves, Hachimura, Vanderbilt, Ayton, LaRavia, Smart, and Hayes, confirm the elite job Redick has done.
We saw signs last season of a Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves juggernaut backcourt winning without LeBron James but that vision is in full bloom right now, which should scare the hell out of every other NBA team.
The Lakers’ championship blueprint is going to be 48 minutes of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves on the ball attacking the paint every game while LeBron James becomes the team’s off-ball jack-of-all trades wild card.
JJ deserves high praise for how the Lakers are already exceeding their expected ceiling without LeBron and other key players and how much better they could become when they get LeBron back and make a trade.
LAKERS MOVE UP TO #3
Be interesting to see if the Lakers pull off a trade before Dec 15. It would mean whomever they traded for could be aggregated in a second trade before the Feb 5 deadline. Let’s see if Mark Walter and Rob Pelinka can pull off a trade for another trading chip for the Deadline.
What remains unsaid is that this could be a pathway for the Lakers to take to setup a trade for Giannis. Pull off a trade for a big name salary on 12/15 and then use that player as the primary matching salary for Giannis. Players who might fit that mold would make at least $30M per year. Andrew Wiggins would be perfect example.