Lakers Nightly

The front office moved on from a large chunk of last season's rotation. LeBron James is now with the 76ers. Marcus Smart went to the Rockets, Rui Hachimura to the Clippers, Deandre Ayton to the Wizards, Luke Kennard to the Suns and Jaxson Hayes to the Jazz. That is six departures, including the starting center spot and a chunk of the wing depth. The Lakers also waived Dalton Knecht on October 19, as reported by Shams Charania, after cutting two players on October 17. The result is a younger and thinner frontcourt. Walker Kessler takes over at center, with Kevon Looney and Sandro Mamukelashvili behind him. Jarred Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia and Ziaire Williams fill the forward spots, and three rookies, AK Okereke, Arthur Kaluma and Cameron Carr, round out the end of the bench.

Last season Luka Doncic averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists in 64 games, shooting 36.6 percent from three in 35.8 minutes a night. Austin Reaves added 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 51 games at 36.0 percent from deep. Both finished with a positive plus-minus, 2.9 for Doncic and 3.6 for Reaves. With James gone, those two are the offense. Quentin Grimes gives them a third scorer after 13.4 points in 75 games last season, though his 33.4 percent three-point shooting is the number to watch. Collin Sexton, a new addition, put up 15.4 points in 68 games and hit 40.1 percent of his threes last season. If he stays healthy, he is the best shooter among the guards. Jaden Hardy and Bronny James are the depth behind that group.

Walker Kessler is the starting center, but his last season was almost a blank. He played only 5 games, averaging 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 30.8 minutes. That sample is too small to lean on, and his 75.0 percent three-point mark comes from the same five games. Behind him, Kevon Looney brings 11 years of experience at age 30. Sandro Mamukelashvili was a steady piece last season, 11.2 points and 4.9 rebounds in 80 games with 38.9 percent shooting from three and a plus-minus of 2.3. He is a stretch option at the five rather than a rim protector. With Ayton and Hayes both gone, there is no proven backup rim protector on the roster. How Kessler holds up over a full schedule is the biggest unknown in the rotation.

Three players are on the report. Collin Sexton is day-to-day with a right calf issue and has an estimated return of October 21, which puts him in play for the opener. Adou Thiero is out with a left knee injury, and Cameron Carr is out with a right oblique injury. Both are listed with an estimated return of October 23, the Clippers game. Sexton is the one that matters for the first game. If he sits, the guard minutes behind Doncic and Reaves go to Quentin Grimes, Jaden Hardy and Bronny James. Thiero and Carr are rotation-fringe pieces, so their absence is less of a factor against the Warriors.

The Lakers finished 53-29 last season with an offensive rating of 117.0 and a defensive rating of 115.5, good for a net rating of 1.5. The team scored 116.3 points per game at a pace of 99.2. The shooting was efficient, with a 57.3 effective field goal percentage and a 60.9 true shooting percentage. Those were the numbers with James, Smart, Hachimura, Ayton and Kennard on the roster. The offense should hold with Doncic and Reaves back, but the defensive rating is the number under pressure after losing Smart and the frontcourt depth. Matisse Thybulle, who posted 39.8 percent from three in 30 games last season, and Jarred Vanderbilt are the defensive specialists on the wing. Recent reporting has also touched on the Buss dispute and on Grimes and Williams, per Lakers notes from October 17.