Media day clock: players on the mic today
Player Media Day is Monday, Sept. 28, with Spectrum SportsNet coverage framed around ~11:30 a.m. PT, then training camp Tuesday, Sept. 29. Thursday’s Rob Pelinka / JJ Redick availability already penciled Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, and Walker Kessler into three starting spots; the other two and the final cut remain open. Today is the first full public pass at the new roster’s voices—not new front-office policy.
Spectrum SportsNet / Threads promo · LA Times camp preview (Nguyen, Sept. 27) · Yahoo Sports (Sept. 27)
Camp storylines: five questions, one new era
The Los Angeles Times (Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Sept. 27) laid out five frames as camp opens:
- What does Dončić’s team look like? After sharing billing with LeBron James, Dončić is the franchise face. Pelinka (Thursday): “Luka is the world’s greatest offensive player.” Redick: “This team is their team” (Dončić and Reaves). The Slovenia minicamp and Dončić’s vlog remain the chemistry exhibit; Pelinka said teammates gave Dončić handwritten thank-you notes.
- What can Kessler do? Redick wants him low / near the basket—rim protection and rebounding—closer to how San Antonio keeps Victor Wembanyama anchored than to L.A.’s recent switch-everything necessity. Career 2.4 blocks per game cited by the Times; he played only five games last season after shoulder surgery. Pelinka’s “deep dive” medical confidence stands; minutes still unproven.
- How does Reaves handle the max? The Times cites a four-year, $185 million deal (other outlets last week used ~$180M—use the latest staff figure and treat older numbers as reporting variance). Career-highs 23.3 PPG / 4.7 RPG last season, but only 51 regular-season games and a playoff oblique setback. Redick called him “a leader in the gym every single day.”
- Who survives the 16→15 cut? Sixteen guaranteed contracts; league max 15 by the Oct. 21 opener vs Golden State. Forward/wing logjam includes Jake LaRavia, Ziaire Williams, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Jarred Vanderbilt, plus wings Adou Thiero and Matisse Thybulle. Pelinka again left room for a two-out, one-in consolidation trade. Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht flagged as possible trade pieces in the Times piece—that is reporter framing, not a club trade announcement.
- Ownership? Mark Walter → Joshua Kushner / Bob Iger at a reported ~$12.5B valuation remains pending—no Board of Governors approval overnight. Pelinka: preliminary talks “really, really positive”; day-to-day ops “nothing’s changed.” Jeanie Buss remains governor pending the Dec. 8 stake fight.
LA Times · Silver Screen & Roll (Moreno, Sept. 27) · Yahoo Sports
Roster shuffle: Kyle III & Swider in; Johnson & Ross out
Lakers Nation (Daniel Starkand, Sept. 27) reports the club signed forwards William Kyle III and Cole Swider to Exhibit 10 deals and waived guards Meechie Johnson and Chase Ross (both signed Sept. 18). Standard G League / camp path language: if not waived soon, expect camp/preseason looks before a likely Coachella Valley landing. Kyle is the recent Syracuse / Summer League rim-protection look; Swider is a prior Lakers two-way / G League familiar face.
Treat as club roster housekeeping for the affiliate pipeline—not a signal on the 15-man Opening Night cut among guaranteed deals.
Starters & defense: still three locked, two open
Redick remains “pretty confident” in three spots—Dončić / Reaves / Kessler—with the other two up for grabs and a deeper wing rotation planned. Yahoo’s preview leans Quentin Grimes at the three (familiarity with Dončić) and floats Williams / Mamukelashvili / LaRavia / Vanderbilt at the four—columnist projection, not a Redick announcement. Silver Screen asks whether the drop/rim-protect identity is Kessler-only and how thin the backup-five looks if he sits (Looney, situational Mamukelashvili).
Yahoo Sports · SI / OnSI (prior week) · Silver Screen & Roll
Watch next
- Media Day today (~11:30 a.m. PT, Spectrum SportsNet)—first player quotes of the week.
- Camp opens Tuesday, Sept. 29; preseason Oct. 5 at Sacramento; regular-season opener framed Oct. 21 vs Golden State.
- Two open starter spots; 16→15 / consolidation-trade clock through opening night.
- Kessler’s first full camp block after the clearance claim.
- Kushner/Iger: next BOG window; Dec. 8 Buss stake hearing.