The Los Angeles Lakers have been forced to go deeper into their point guard depth chart this preseason, and a glaring hole has emerged. Collin Sexton has yet to play with a leg injury. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have missed two of the four games. Those are LA’s three primary creators heading into the season, so there have been plenty of opportunities for others to step up.
Head coach JJ Redick knows the Lakers will need those reserves. He pointed to Bronny James, Jaden Hardy, and Chris Manon as the options to step up if one of the top three ball-handlers is out. Here is Redick’s quote from after their fourth preseason game.
“We will continue to build that group up, and I’ve told all those guys they are going to get an opportunity to play at some point. That is just the nature of the NBA season. They’ve got to be ready. They’ve got to do a better job of being organized, and that will help the offense.”
Things have been disastrous when these three guys have been tasked with running the show. The Lakers clearly need an upgrade to make it through the 82-game regular season grind. Luka, AR, and Sexton will all miss games. Los Angeles can’t rely on anyone else to fill in and help them win games.
Lakers don’t have another option on their roster
Rob Pelinka’s love for players with one standout skill is hurting LA again. Jaden Hardy is a score-first guard who has produced twice as many turnovers (12) as assists (six) this preseason. Chris Manon is a defense-first player who has eight assists to two turnovers. Bronny James isn’t a point guard and has shot just 26.7 percent from the field through four games.
None of these players should be running the offense of a serious contender. Redick had this to say when discussing the turnover problem this preseason.
“I think the turnovers throughout the preseason, it has been two consistent themes. It is when we play in a crowd we turn the ball over, and the non-Luka and AR minutes without Collin out there. The other minutes we are at like 93 percent organization rate. Those minutes we are at like 60 percent. Some of the turnovers are just us being unorganized.”
A massive part of the point guard’s job is organizing the offense. Redick even admitted that none of these players are getting the job done. It is easy to say the problem is fixed when Sexton returns, but that isn’t how an NBA regular season works. Players will miss games, and contenders need reserve options to fill the cracks.
Lakers need to manage Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves carefully
Luka just suffered a season-ending hamstring injury that forced him to miss the playoffs. He has averaged 64.3 games per year in his NBA career, but the Lakers need him healthy for the most important contests. They can’t expect Doncic to do it all every night. LA built this roster around him. Luka will maximize it, but the workload needs to be reasonable if the purple and gold want to make a deep playoff run.
Reaves played a career-low 51 games last season after dealing with groin, calf, and oblique problems. He played 60-plus games in each of his first four years, including all 82 in 2023. AR wants to suit up, but the Lakers need to be cautious. They need both their stars to make a deep playoff run in the Western Conference.
The Lakers would be wise to sit Doncic and Reaves when there is limited rest between games, or either is dealing with a nagging injury. LA will win regular season games and make the playoffs. It is all about making a deep run once they get there.
If Doncic, Reaves, or Sexton sits, the Lakers are left with just two ball-handlers. Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili can pick up some slack as secondary options, but that is not ideal. Instead of rolling with Bronny or Hardy, Rob Pelinka and the front office have work to do.
Rob Pelinka needs to acquire another ball-handler before the deadline
The Lakers can’t risk having just three creators after the trade deadline. They saw how quickly fortunes can change when Doncic and Reaves were injured in the same April game against the Thunder last season. LeBron James willed them to a first-round playoff series win, but the purple and gold were swept by the Thunder in round two.
OKC had the same issues in the conference finals with Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell out. They were relying on Cason Wallace and Jared McCain behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, which backfired in Game 7 against the Spurs.
Having a fourth option feels like a must for a contender in this era of the NBA because pace and space are leading to more injuries. The Lakers would have to rely on Quentin Grimes right now, which is significantly overtaxing him.
Pelinka found a sharpshooter for a minimal cost at last season’s deadline. He must do the same with a point guard this year. It is too early to know who will be available, but the Lakers should be searching the market and putting out feelers already.
The Los Angeles Lakers clearly need another creator. They can’t expect Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to do it all. Collin Sexton is necessary, but those three players will miss time. The Lakers need another capable option to turn to. It isn’t on the roster, and JJ Redick knows it. They need to make a move to acquire one before February’s trade deadline.
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