The Los Angeles Lakers are preparing for the 2025-26 NBA season.
With all the drama surrounding LeBron James and his pending retirement, the Los Angeles Lakers are focused on winning a championship with Luka Donsic in the mix.
Donsic seems to want to make this offseason big and prove his opponents wrong.
Meanwhile, Austin Reeves is on his contract year and he may be ready for the best season ever.
The Lakers made some great additions in the offseason.
The Lakers signed Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake Laravia.
Laravia is a good friend of Reeves and he predicts he will become a key player in the Lakers rotation this season.
However, Reaves noted that Laravia does not meet the standards she desires when adapting to his new role. But that doesn’t mean the Lakers don’t have much hope for him in the future.
“I think he was great. Clearly there are some things he isn’t doing to the standards he’s sure he wants, but at the same time, it’s not easy to come up with a new team and do something really, really, really good.
“He has a lot of promises and he can be someone we really need on this team.
“We know he can do that, and now we continue to encourage him to do that.”
Laravia was selected 19th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2022 NBA Draft, and subsequently his draft rights were traded with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Laravia’s best season was 2023-24, averaging 10.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 35 games in Memphis.
He was then traded for the Sacramento Kings the following season as part of a three-team deal involving the Washington Wizard.
Laravia averaged 6.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 136 regular season games. The Lakers signed a two-year, $12 million contract in the offseason.