Rob Pelinka spent the summer rebuilding the roster around Luka Doncic, and the starting five looks settled even if a few bench spots are still up for grabs.
The Los Angeles Lakers have six players whose rotation spots are already locked in heading into training camp, and five of them will almost certainly be on the floor for opening night.
Luka Doncic is the centerpiece of everything the team does now, and Austin Reaves returns as his backcourt partner after signing a long-term deal worth a reported 185 million dollars.
The two posted a net rating of 8.9 together last season, which is real on-court chemistry.
Walker Kessler fills the starting center role after arriving from Utah in a sign-and-trade valued at four years and 130 million dollars.
He averaged 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game and Quentin Grimes rounds out the starting group as a defensive-minded wing who can space the floor on the other end.
The answer will shape the opening night lineup, but the structure around Doncic, Reaves, and Kessler gives the team a clearer identity than it has had in years.
The question is who starts at the four.
The Bench and the Open Spots
Collin Sexton is the primary bench guard and will handle a lot of the scoring load when Doncic sits.
Sandro Mamukelashvili signed a four-year deal and can slide between power forward and small-ball center depending on the matchup, which makes him the most likely candidate for the fifth starting spot unless the team adds another forward.
Jaden Hardy, who came over from Washington in the DeAndre Ayton trade, brings shooting off the bench and history with Doncic from their time together in Dallas.
Cameron Carr is the team's rookie draft pick and will compete for minutes on the wing.
Kevon Looney signed a one-year deal worth 3.9 million to serve as Kessler's backup at center.
The bench is thinner than what other Western Conference contenders can roll out, but the front office still has time to address that before October.
What It All Means
The biggest takeaway from this offseason is that the Lakers finally have a clear identity.
For years, the roster was built around maximizing whatever LeBron James needed in a given season.
Now the organization has committed to building around Doncic and Reaves as a two-man engine with Kessler protecting the rim and Grimes handling tough perimeter assignments.
The departure of LeBron, Rui Hachimura, Marcus Smart, and several other rotation pieces means this will look and feel like a different team, but the pieces Pelinka brought in fit together better than anything the Lakers have assembled in years.
There is a coherence to this roster that has been missing in previous summers, and the fact that each player's role is easy to define says something about how much thought went into the construction.
The franchise is still pursuing Jonathan Kuminga as a potential wing addition, though cap constraints have complicated negotiations.
Even without Kuminga, this is a roster with enough talent to compete for a higher playoff spot in the Western Conference, and the opening night rotation should give fans a good look at how the new core fits together.
