From above article:

The Lakers will treat their final preseason game against the Kings on Friday like a regular season match

The Lakers will conclude their preseason stint at home on Friday against the Sacramento Kings. With most of their key players expected to suit up, L.A. looks to transition to the regular season on a strong note.

Start time and TV schedule:

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Sacramento Kings

When: 7:30 p.m. PT, Oct 17

Where: Crypto.com Arena

Watch: NBA TV, Spectrum Sportsnet

With the regular season tipping off in exactly five days, the Lakers are expected to treat their last preseason game as a dress rehearsal, at least according to JJ Redick. This means expecting Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and most of the core players to not only suit up but also play heavy minutes. It’ll be the perfect opportunity to get a glimpse of how this team currently looks like and determine whether or not they look ready for the regular season.

Besides that, it’ll also be interesting to see how Redick manages his rotation: Who will round up the starting five, especially knowing that LeBron James isn’t playing on opening night? Who will see the most minutes off the bench? Which pairings or even lineups will get the most burn on the court? How does the offense look with most guys active in the lineup?

These little details matter especially if L.A. is serious about treating this one as a dress rehearsal.

Hopefully, this dress rehearsal provides some excitement for fans who have been eager to see a complete Laker team compete. It’ll be nice to see another strong performance from Dončić and Reaves who played really well together in the loss against the Phoenix Suns last Tuesday. It’ll be even more exciting to get a good game from Deandre Ayton, who should feast in this one with Domantas Sabonis ruled out due to a hamstring injury.

Aside from the top three key players, it’ll also be fascinating to see who continues to stand out in the preseason. Last game, it was obviously Gabe Vincent who scored a team-high 22 points in 25 minutes, including five 3-pointers in the first quarter alone. Rui Hachimura also stood out with 19 points along with two-way guard Nick Smith, who had eight. These three were the key highlights from last Wednesday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks and despite the result, provided some encouragement on the outlook of their season.

Hopefully, there will be more encouraging signs and positive takeaways from the Lakers’ last preseason game. Ones that will give the team and its fans more confidence for the upcoming regular season. Wins and losses in the preseason don’t matter but hey, a victory to conclude Friday’s dress rehearsal for some good juju would be nice. Let’s see if the purple and gold can make that happen on Friday.

Notes and Updates

The Lakers will face a Kings team that just made a huge move by signing Russell Westbrook this week. It’s unclear as to whether or not Westbrook will play in this one but expect the likes of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Dennis Schröder to get some burn in this one. Meanwhile, Malik Monk (illness) and Keegan Murray (left thumb) won’t be playing.

The Lakers won’t release an injury report but it’s safe to assume that LeBron James (sciatica), Chris Mañon (ankle sprain) and Adou Thiero (left knee hyperextension) will not play. The team will likely release more details on their health status after Friday morning’s shootaround.

From above article:

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Good, of all the players on the roster, his health and availability in the playoffs is the most vital.

The Lakers bench group basically beat the Mavs starting group for 3 quarters until we emptied our bench. If I'm a Mavs fan, I'm a bit concerned about the clunkiness of this team with so many bigs and the lack of 3 point shooting.— Yinoma2001 (@Yinoma2001) October 16, 2025

Went 5 for 5 then 1 for 6. Tale of Two Gabe’s lol

Why Lakers Sans LeBron Should Super-Size Their Starting Lineup Doncic, Reaves, Hachimura, and Ayton should turn the Lakers’ starting lineup into an offensive juggernaut that can compensate for Vanderbilt’s lack of impact on offense in order to unleash his ferocity on defense.… pic.twitter.com/3EwMLV9tQQ— LakerTom (@LakerTom) October 15, 2025

Why Lakers Sans LeBron Should Super-Size Their Starting Lineup Until a trade is made, the only alternatives to starting Vanderbilt are Smart and LaRavia. Smart would fill a similar role as Vanderbilt defensively but would not be the offensive liability the latter can be… pic.twitter.com/ugmHa8GrP3— LakerTom (@LakerTom) October 15, 2025

Why Lakers Sans LeBron Should Super-Size Their Starting Lineup The Lakers should begin the season with a starting lineup of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, and Deandre Ayton to possess the height and length to matchup against the West’s bigger… pic.twitter.com/ZH8Gw0nl1U— LakerTom (@LakerTom) October 15, 2025

I like this lineup, maybe lacking quickness but could make up for it with length if they talk on D. The main issue I’m worried about is the severe drop off after the 7th/8th player off the bench. Our bench doesn’t have much to offer 9/10-14. It could be a real issue and Knecht just looks like a dude who came in off the street who somehow got a jersey and a role. Scoring wise, after Vincent, it gets

FROM THE ABOVE ARTICLE:

Austin Reaves Next Contract
Bringing things back around to Austin Reaves and his next deal…it’s likely to come with Los Angeles. The Lakers love Reaves and he loves being a Laker. Despite making it clear that there won’t be an extension signed, both Reaves and the Lakers have said that they intend for their partnership to continue. That leaves the question of:

What’s a fair value for Reaves on his next deal?

We’ve already covered that the Lakers can use cap space while retaining Reaves’ cap hold. That means that there is no reason to “fit him in” around signing other players. If the team goes the cap space route, the Los Angeles should still be able to avoid being a luxury tax team too. A starting salary of $32 million for the 2026-27 season would rank Reaves at 58th among all players, and 29th among guards. For reference, that would drop the Lakers guard in a salary neighborhood among Tyler Herro, Dejounte Murray, Immanuel Quickly, Jalen Suggs, Aaron Gordon, Derrick White, Andrew Wiggins and Jalen Johnson.

That feels about the correct spot, as some of those players are overpaid, some are underpaid and some feel just about right.

If Reaves’ starting salary nudged up to $35 million for the 2026-27 season, he’d be the 49th highest player overall and 23rd among all guards. His salary neighbors then become Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jrue Holiday, Jerami Grant, Jordan Poole, Mikal Bridges and Julius Randle. That’s an even more eclectic mix, despite the first-year salary bumping up by just $3 million. If the Lakers are concerned about long-term money, they could pitch the idea of starting Reaves high at $35 million, then having the contract descend year to year. Having a higher salary in 2026-27 shouldn’t be an issue, as Los Angeles shouldn’t have any tax concerns. Then, having Reaves on a lower number in the out years will be important for when Luka Doncic eventually signs a 35% of the cap max.

Here’s what that deal could look like for Reaves and the Lakers:

2026-27: $35,000,000
2027-28: $32,200,000
2028-29: $29,400,000
2029-30: $26,600,000
2030-31: $23,800,000 (player option)
Total: five years, $147,000,000

Given that something in the range of $150 million over five years seems fair for Reaves and the Lakers in terms of total value, this structure should be workable. Maybe the Lakers have to go a bit higher in first-year salary, but that shouldn’t be an issue. They’ll have an idea of how far they can go without tripping into tax territory.

The other beneficial part of this structure is that the deal would be extendable. The Lakers could easily extend Reaves off of the $26.6 million he’d be making in 2029-30. He’d be in his early-30s at that point, and a deal that bumps up to $30 million would be fair value, assuming Reaves continues to be a productive player over the next handful of seasons.

Summary

The Los Angeles Lakers and Austin Reaves are going to sign a new contract, barring something really unexpected. It’s just not going to happen until the summer of 2026. And that’s fine, because by then the Lakers should have more clarity on what’s happening with LeBron James and their potential cap space plans.

The key for Reaves is getting paid, after outplaying his current deal. The key for Los Angeles is managing their cap sheet and roster-building ability around max deals for Luka Doncic. The good news? Both things are well within range, given the great relationship between Reaves and the Lakers. There will be some negotiating, of course, but it would be a surprise to see Reaves playing anywhere but Los Angeles after this season.

🚨Gabe Vincent, Jaxon Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Rui Hachimura WILL all play tonight vs the Dallas Mavericks.Could we get our first look at the potential starting lineup for the Lakers? 👀 pic.twitter.com/EJAjdIaxb0— Lakers Wire (@lakerswire1) October 15, 2025

So absurd. Leaves the Lakers in a lurch and no real reason that justifies why this was scheduled as such…

WOULD LOVE DILLON BROOKS ON LAKERSTruly hated Dillon as a player with his cheap antics to try and get players out of their groove but he is exactly what the Lakers need at small forward. He has always been the best alternative to Andrew Wiggins. Hope we can pull this off or… https://t.co/5oDRC6EZmk— LakerTom (@LakerTom) October 15, 2025

I think the Lakers should trade for Dillon Brooks if the Suns end up tanking. He’s a culture changer. Marcus Smart and Dillon Brooks 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨— LeLukaShow 🪄👑 (@LeLukaShow) October 4, 2025

FROM THE ABOVE ARTICLE:

PHOENIX — Luka Dončić was back, taking the court with his gold jersey hanging down towards his neon green sneaker. Luka Dončić was back, spinning and faking, spinning and faking and spinning and faking again until he created enough of an advantage to draw a foul and score. Luka Dončić was back, pulling the emergency brake in transition and swishing a three. And even in a preseason game against the Phoenix Suns, Luka Dončić was back, rolling his eyes and pleading his case to whichever official he thought was wrong.

The 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 22 minutes, the 113-104 loss, none of it mattered as much as Dončić launching one-legged 3s and chirping at the first-row fans. Now eight-plus months removed from a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers that left him shellshocked, that, as much as the hooping, made it seem like Dončić was truly back.

“He has an ability to do what I would call it, like, silly stuff, but still be locked in. It’s important to him that basketball is fun,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “He’s at play. And that’s part of what makes him great.”

Over the summer, Dončić’s physical changes were the most obvious. The lighter weight and quicker feet were easy to spot as he played with the Slovenian national team. But the subtler changes, the way he juggled a dead ball with his feet, the way he skipped over courtside fans near the Lakers bench, might be the things that have the Lakers excited too.

On Tuesday, Dončić acknowledged that the trade to the Lakers, the shock of it all, probably zapped some of his joy. His teammates saw it too.

“I’m sure there was a million things going through his head,” Austin Reaves said. “And that’s not saying that he wasn’t fun to be around. He was always, still joking, having fun. But you can tell that, he’s at peace with it. And he’s excited to go to war with us every night.”

That’s been the vibe in camp, the closed-door practices that fans have only gotten glimpses of from social media photos and video snippets. Other things, like swapping jerseys with Jared Vanderbilt for a day, are more indicative of the version of the player the Lakers have now.

“I think by being in a clearer headspace, and by that I mean just mentally and emotionally in balance, it allows you the freedom to just be yourself,” Redick said pregame. “And that gets reflected in his expressions, his interactions with teammates, his interactions with our coaching staff, his desire to toe that line between competition and joy and playfulness that truthfully makes him the special person and player that he is.”

Playing a real game for the first time since the EuroBasket tournament last month, Dončić looked a lot like the best version of himself, a maestro on offense creating high-quality looks for himself and everyone else on the floor. He also, predictably, looked like a player learning this version of the Lakers.

“I felt great,” Dončić said. “That was probably better than I expected. Those first games are kind of rusty, but I was just very happy to be out there again.”

Of the jobs tasked to him this season, maximizing center Deandre Ayton might be the biggest. Against a Suns team resting almost all its regulars, Dončić and Ayton connected just once for a lob with multiple missed connections among Dončić’s five turnovers.

“I mean, it’s probably just more (on) me,” he said of the connection. “Obviously, (I’m) the guard with the ball. But like I said, it’s more talking about it and what he likes. I know he likes the pocket, too. So I’m trying to get used to that too. But it’s just mostly talking about it and playing games.”

Dončić’s debut, along with Marcus Smart’s first game as a Laker, inched LA closer to its opening night roster. A back-to-back scheduled for Wednesday night in Las Vegas in Dallas kept Redick from allowing Tuesday’s game to be a real representation. The Lakers rested wings Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura, guard Gabe Vincent and center Jaxson Hayes, all projected pieces of their rotation.

Reaves scored 25 points, and Ayton finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Suns first-round pick Khaman Maluach had 17 points. Jared Butler scored 35 and former Laker Jordan Goodwin, whom the team waived this summer amidst a roster crunch, had 24.

“We’re trying to form consistent habits, and so if you’re trying to do that, that means everybody,” Redick said after. “That doesn’t mean three guys. We need everybody doing that.”

Still, while the Lakers go through their early-season pains and while they wait for LeBron James to get healthy, there’s some comfort in knowing that their best player looks like someone ready to be at his best.

“Just getting out there and playing basketball for me is amazing,” Dončić said. “I missed it. I think you can see that. … I’m just happy to be on the basketball court again.”

Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves combined for 50 vs Suns in limited minutesTikTok/nbaphilippines pic.twitter.com/WBm6CllhOs— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) October 15, 2025

Luka is going to explode this seasonIn 22 minutes against the Suns: 🔥 22 PTS🔥 6-10 FGM🔥 4-7 3PM pic.twitter.com/9NtyGNi954— Nick Grunewald (@iamnickgrune) October 15, 2025

🔎🔥 Los 22 minutos de Luka Doncic en su primer partido de pretemporada con los Lakers: 25 puntos, 7 rebotes y 4 asistencias ante los Suns.pic.twitter.com/XiblqUZa13— Gigantes del Basket (@GIGANTESbasket) October 15, 2025

Austin Reaves (25 points on 8/16 FG and 4 rebounds) speaks about what needs to get cleaned up for the regular season, his strength and speed heading into year 5, and playing his first full season with Luka. pic.twitter.com/CGaBLKWTYZ— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) October 15, 2025

AUSTIN REAVES TONIGHT 🌟 29 minutes 🌟 25 points 🌟 4 rebounds 🌟 2 assists 🌟 8/16 FGBEGIN THE ALL-STAR CAMPAIGN 🫡 pic.twitter.com/QNFDRUBVJo— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) October 15, 2025

DEANDRE AYTON TONIGHT 💪 25 minutes 💪 10 points 💪 13 rebounds 💪 3 blocks💪 2 stealsDominAYTON loves playing in PHX ☀️ pic.twitter.com/YnaFtfCY31— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) October 15, 2025

Deandre Ayton had 3 blocks vs Phoenix, all three vs ex-Laker Jordan Goodwin and is now at 2 per game in 23 mpg in preseason.If he can keep it up and his block rates get back to the level of his 2nd and 3rd year in Phoenix, into 2-2.5% range it's gonna be huge for the Lakers. pic.twitter.com/1kLW8lzn9Y— Iztok Franko (@iztok_franko) October 15, 2025