The Lakers can point to a preseason that has mostly gone the way they wanted. JJ Redick said after a win over the Kings, “I like where we’re at.” But the part that still matters most is unresolved: the lineup is not set, Walker Kessler has not yet played in the preseason, and the team is still trying to see how the pieces fit together once the games start counting.
Redick has not finalized the starting lineup, and he has already made clear that the last spots are open. He said it would be an open competition to decide who joins Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Kessler in the starting five. That leaves the Lakers in a familiar preseason place — encouraged by what they’ve seen, but still waiting for the version of the roster that will actually open the season.
Kessler’s situation is the clearest example of that uncertainty. He was back to being a full participant in practice on Sunday as he inches closer to making his preseason debut, but he still has not suited up. He is also dealing with a finger injury, which has kept the Lakers from seeing him on the floor in game action.
That matters because the Lakers have already built a lot of their defensive thinking around him. Kessler described the job in blunt terms: “I’ve been asked to kind of be the defensive anchor. So that’s going to be my role, to kind of be the linebacker of the defense, kind of take control of that.” Redick has also talked about the importance of having two bigger wings out there for rebounding purposes, another clue to how the staff is trying to shape the frontcourt around size and physicality.
Until Kessler plays, though, the Lakers are working with a partial picture. Without him on the floor this preseason, center minutes have largely gone to Kevon Looney and Sandro Mamukelashvili, which has left the team thinner in the middle than it wants to be. That is part of why the next few preseason games matter so much: Redick has said he wants to see the group at full strength and build rhythm together before the regular season arrives.
Mamukelashvili has been one of the more interesting answers so far. He has shown off a wide range of offensive skills during the preseason, and his shooting line has stood out: 57.1% from the field and 57.1% from three-point range. Austin Reaves has noticed the way he processes the game, saying he has great trust in Mamukelashvili’s IQ and decision-making on the court.
That combination — the shooting, the feel, the ability to do a little of everything — is part of why Mamukelashvili has become more than just a preseason name. He has been productive while the Lakers sort through injuries and lineup combinations, and his minutes have come in the same stretch where the team has had to lean on him at center.
The larger question is whether those individual flashes can be folded into something more settled. The Lakers believe Kessler is the ideal big man to complement Doncic, Reaves and the rest of the roster, but he has yet to play in the preseason. Reaves has only played one game. That makes the chemistry question harder to answer right now, not easier.
There is also the cost of the Kessler move hanging over the whole picture. The Lakers acquired him in a sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz, and one separate assessment called it an expensive gamble. That framing is hard to ignore when the player at the center of it has not yet appeared in a preseason game and is already being discussed as the defensive anchor.
For now, the Lakers are still in the optimistic part of the calendar. They have looked good against Sacramento, aside from the loss to the Warriors when they rested a lot of players. Redick likes where the team is at. But the next step is less about general encouragement and more about specifics: who starts, who rebounds, who protects the rim, and how Mamukelashvili and Kessler fit into the same picture once everyone is finally on the floor together.