<\/p>\n
JJ Redick believes the Los Angeles Lakers finally have a roster where the pieces truly fit together after a huge roster overhaul.<\/p>\n
The Lakers underwent a major overhaul this offseason, building around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves following the departure of LeBron James and several other key players.<\/p>\n
Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams and Sandro Mamukelashvili were among the additions, while Reaves returned on a new four-year deal.<\/p>\n
After watching the new group come together, Redick believes the roster construction gives him something he hasn\u2019t had during his time as Lakers head coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ve always tried to give our players clearly defined roles, and I think with this group, probably the first time in my three years here that I feel like the pieces actually fit together, and so those roles probably get even more crystallized,\u201d Redick said<\/a> during his annual preseason press conference.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll give you the wings, like there\u2019s a very clear ask for you to be able to play, and if you don\u2019t do those things, then you\u2019re not going to play. That\u2019s just the reality. We\u2019ve already had some of those conversations this week with our players. We have high, high confidence in these guys that they\u2019re going to buy into that. So it\u2019s going to naturally create a lot of healthy competition, and everybody at some point inevitably will get a chance to impact our team and impact winning.\u201d<\/p>\n Kessler\u2019s arrival is another major reason for Redick\u2019s confidence, giving Los Angeles a legitimate rim protector behind its revamped perimeter group.<\/p>\n \u201cI think first of all it starts with having that center in Walker,\u201d Redick said. \u201cIt\u2019s why we valued him the way we valued him.\u201d<\/p>\n Redick isn\u2019t pretending the Lakers completed their entire transformation in one summer, but he likes the direction they have taken around Doncic.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, this has not been \u2014 and it never will be \u2014 a full rebuild around Luka in one offseason. That\u2019s not the way the NBA works, and particularly with free agency the way it is now,\u201d Redick said. \u201cBut I like everything we did this summer to build around him, to build around A.R., and to provide us with a ton of depth.\u201d<\/p>\n