Pulling off the type of massive overhaul the Los Angeles Lakers had during this summer can often come with a reasonable amount of growing pains. Not everything gets figured out in training camp, either. Often times, those issues can bleed into the start of the regular season.
The Lakers have done their best to try and minimize that by at least ensuring some form of past connections between a handful of their new arrivals and the current group of players on the roster. That familiarity could bridge the gap just enough to allow Los Angeles to duck a slow start while figuring out how the pieces all fit together.
Quentin Grimes has multiple connections to his new Lakers team
Quentin Grimes is a great example of someone who is arriving in Los Angeles with built-in connections. Two of them loom rather large.
Grimes and Luka Doncic were briefly teammates on the Dallas Mavericks before that franchise decided to send both of them packing. The limited sample size in Texas was encouraging, though. The new Lakers guard even mentioned Doncic was quick to reach out following the signing.
Grimes said: “He was the first one to text me right when the news broke, within like five minutes. That’s my guy for sure. It’s going to be a lot of fun playing with him again.”
It goes beyond just Luka, too. Grimes has routinely worked out with Lakers head coach JJ Redick. That should give the bench boss in Los Angeles a good idea of what his new player’s strengths and weaknesses are, positioning the high-priced free agent to have an immediate shot at success.
Walker Kessler is also arriving to guys he knows in Los Angeles
The Lakers’ big prize of the offseason, Walker Kessler, will be given every chance to hit the ground running in Los Angeles, too. Two of the guards he will be playing with come with notable history.
Kessler and Collin Sexton can reconnect in Los Angeles after being teammates on the Utah Jazz for multiple years. That positions two of the Lakers’ most notable new faces for success.
However, Austin Reaves also has ties to the new starting center. The two were teammates for Team USA during the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. That gave Reaves plenty to say on Kessler when asked about the addition during the summer.
The Lakers star said of his center: “He’s a big, goofy dude that just enjoys life and has fun. Obviously, you see what he does basketball-wise and how he impacts the game. He’s good defensively, good in the pocket, just a smart player. So, I’m happy to have him on the team and get to work.”
New places with familiar faces should bode well for the Lakers
The intangible parts of building a team matter. The Lakers invested a lot of money, and even future draft capital, in reworking how this roster looks around Doncic and Reaves.
Giving both stars guys who they have rapport with is a silent cheat code to speed up the process of having the chemistry get to where it needs to be. The Lakers did not see that part fully click until March last season. They are hoping familiarity creates a more streamlined process in 2026-27.
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