The Lakers want their new identity to start with effort on the glass. The problem is that they are still trying to figure out who will actually be on the floor to carry it out.
Ziaire Williams said the message around rebounding has been clear in camp: it has to be collective. “One of the things is that everybody’s got each other’s backs,” Williams said, a line that fits the way the Lakers have been talking about this preseason. Quentin Grimes has framed it the same way, saying he likes that the Lakers have each other’s backs. That shared-responsibility idea has become part of the team’s public pitch, even as the lineup around it remains unsettled.
The uncertainty is not abstract. The Lakers have one preseason game left before they debut their brand new roster on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and they still do not know who will settle into the fifth starter spot. That question is tied directly to availability. Collin Sexton has not yet played this preseason because of a lower leg injury, though he is reportedly making good progress toward opening night. Ziaire Williams has also been working through a minor foot contusion and swelling in his left foot, but he was a full participant in practice and said it is ultimately up to the staff to determine whether he is ready to play.
That leaves the Lakers trying to sort out both fit and health at the same time.
Williams has been one of the clearest voices on what the team wants to become on the boards. He said the Lakers need “gang rebounding,” and he added, “Yeah, for sure, it takes all five of us to gang rebound, especially when (Walker Kessler) is not in.” He also said, “we gotta do a better job of wanting it a little bit more.” Those comments land against a blunt statistical backdrop: last season, the Lakers ranked 27th in rebounds per game, 29th in offensive rebounds and 22nd in defensive rebounds.
That is part of why the rebounding emphasis has been so visible in camp. JJ Redick did not have the type of roster last season to deploy that kind of gang-rebounding mentality, but this group is being built with more athleticism in mind. The Lakers traded for Walker Kessler and signed Quentin Grimes in free agency, and the idea is to give Redick more options to play the way he wants. Even without Kessler, the Lakers have already shown a glimpse of their new defensive identity.
The fifth starter discussion sits right in the middle of all of it. If the Lakers are going to lean into collective play, they still need a lineup that can hold together when the game starts counting. That is why Sexton’s status matters so much. He is listed as questionable because of the lower leg injury, but the reporting around him has been more encouraging than alarming, with the expectation that he should be ready for Opening Night. Williams, meanwhile, has been active in practice and is trying to work through his own foot issue.
So the Lakers are left with a familiar preseason tension: the principles are easy to say out loud, but the rotation still has to be earned and available. The rebounding message is clear. The lineup that will carry it into Oct. 21 is not.