After the Los Angeles Lakers signed LeBron James in 2018 NBA free agency and traded for Anthony Davis the following offseason, all of the attention is on Los Angeles again.
For the first time in six seasons, the Lakers are truly a championship contender with two All-Star players and strong role players in a time when the league is wide-open.
While the Lakers certainly have the talent, one immediate concern is team chemistry as there are nine new players.
In an effort to speed up the process, James held a mini-camp in Las Vegas prior to team’s actual training camp.
As there have not been details about it yet, Davis shared what they accomplished at 2019 Lakers Media Day.
“It was fun. We had some great workouts, just trying to build team chemistry before going into training camp,” Davis revealed. “It was the first time we had everyone together, so that was pretty cool. Enjoyed each other’s company.”
For the 2019-20 NBA season, the Lakers building team chemistry as quickly as possible will likely determine their success. As Kyle Kuzma is recovering from a stress reaction, staying relatively healthy will also be a factor.
With Kuzma scheduled for an MRI after the team’s trip to China, this means he will not return until mid-October at the very earliest and it will take more time to integrate him.
With a new coaching staff and roster, the Lakers have a lot of work to do, but most teams are in a similar situation as well. However, there is pressure to maximize James’ championship window at this stage of his career.
As Davis and James are already good friends and spent time together during the offseason, there is optimism the rest of the roster will fall in line on and off the court.
Since the Lakers are so versatile, head coach Frank Vogel and company have a good problem on their hands. While they have a legitimate 11-man rotation, some players will have to sacrifice their playing time depending on matchups.
Due to the team’s ‘soft’ schedule to begin the new season, Los Angeles does have an opportunity to win a lot of games, which will significantly help this championship process.