While the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t make any meaningful additions to the roster this past offseason, they did manage to re-sign Max Christie to a four-year, $32 million deal.
Christie played sparingly last season under then-head coach Darvin Ham, but the Lakers still believed in his potential as a player and brought him back. New head coach JJ Redick is now at the helm and has already spoken highly about Christie, even noting that the young swingman took the offseason to significantly improve his game.
On a roster short of true 3-and-D wings, Christie is in line to play a big role in Redick’s rotation and he showed that he’s up to the task after a strong showing in the Lakers’ first preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Christie drew the start with LeBron James and Anthony Davis sitting out and displayed a strong two-way game that backs up what Redick’s said about him so far.
After Christie’s performance against Minnesota, Redick reiterated that he plans to lean on Christie during the 2024-25 season.
“Max is an old soul. He’s wise and he’s mature,” Redick said. “And he takes this very seriously and I really appreciate that about him. So, it’s not a surprise to me in a game like this he plays a lot of minutes, he doesn’t hang his head. He just keeps competing. He’s going to be very valuable for us this year.
“You sort of look at your team, and in games like this, you see a guy like him or a guy like Austin [Reaves]. Just their level of compete at all times, and I’ve seen it in practice and workouts for the last two months. I mean, it’s always there, and I just appreciate that about Max.”
As Redick noted, Christie’s always had a calm and cool demeanor to him but has also voiced his confidence to contribute on a team like the Lakers. There’s little reason to doubt Christie’s role as he’s already got his coach’s support but backed it up wit his performance against the Timberwolves.
Redick already announced that his starters for Opening Night will be D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, James and Davis, so Christie will start the regular season coming off the bench. However, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he plays himself into a starting role given his natural fit next to the stars.
For now, though, the organization should be happy to see Christie succeeding this early into Redick’s tenure. If Christie can continue to improve throughout the season, Los Angeles might be in better position than initially anticipated.
LeBron James happy Lakers were able to re-sign Max Christie
Max Christie re-signing with the Lakers was well-received by fans who wanted to see him back with the purple and gold, but it was also praised by his teammates. For example, James noted how happy he was the team re-signed Christie and how much he’s looking forward to playing with him.
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