The Los Angeles Lakers will look much different when they take the floor for opening night of the 2026-27 NBA season.

Starters LeBron James, Marcus Smart, and Deandre Ayton have all moved on, as have Luke Kennard and Rui Hachimura, both of whom started playoff games for the Lakers.

Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves remain on the team, occupying the two starting backcourt spots to form arguably the best starting backcourt in the league.

Walker Kessler will be the starting center. The Lakers paid a premium to acquire Kessler, trading, unprotected first-round draft picks in 2031 and 2033, plus first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030, and then signing him to a four-year, $130 million deal

The other two starting spots are up for grabs, according to JJ Redick.

At media day, Lakers head coach JJ Redick admitted that he hasn’t decided on the final two starting spots.

"There's a lot of minutes, there's starting spots that are up for grabs,” he said.

He then joked, “We know three of the starters and the other two will not be white guys.”

Along with Kessler, the Lakers added Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Kevon Looney, Jaden Hardy, Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle, and rookie Cameron Carr to the roster in the offseason.

Jarred Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia, Dalton Knecht, and Bronny James are all returning.

The Lakers have options at the wing spot next to Reaves and Doncic.

Grimes is the fourth-highest-paid player on the team, signing a four-year, $60 million deal. He would seem to have the inside track as the starting small forward. He’s a versatile defender who can get up and down the floor and stretch the floor on most nights. He shot only 33% from three last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, but he’s a career 37% three-point shooter and shot 38% in 2024-25.

Hardy, Williams, and Thybulle all have their strengths, but are likely better utilized coming off the bench.

At the power forward spot, Mamukelashvili was signed to be a connector and spacer, and would seem to fit next to Kessler with his ability to space the floor and move the ball.

Vanderbilt might end up getting the starting four spot since he is familiar with the team and Redick’s system, and the Lakers might decide they want a little more punch off the bench with Mamukelashvili.

Expect the Lakers to experiment throughout the season with various lineups until settling on the group that works best by the middle of the year.