Three questions facing the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of 2024-25 season

LeBron James and Anthony Davis won Olympic gold medals, an in-season tournament and a play-in game last season, but it was still a disappointing year for the Los Angeles Lakers. The team always has high standards for their play, and the last four ringless seasons fell short of the mark. Here are three questions facing the Lake Show next season.

1. Is a trade coming?

Lakers GM Rob Pelinka had a magical trade deadline in 2023, turning Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley into six new players. Last year, that seemed to be the plan as well, but the team couldn't find takers for D'Angelo Russell and ended up only adding Spencer Dinwiddie. This summer, the team only added rookies Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, so this roster still seems a few players short.

Who might the Lakers add? There have been strong indications the Lakers are interested in trading for veteran center Jonas Valanciunas, who surprisingly signed with the Washington Wizards this summer. Maybe the Wizards want a veteran big man alongside No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr, but JV may well have been signed to be traded.

Los Angeles is also short on perimeter defenders and shooters, especially with Jarred Vanderbilt reportedly still recovering from a February foot injury. The Lakers have a few tradeable players, though not particularly attractive, to match salaries, and can trade first-round picks in 2029 and 2031 (2025 and 2027 are owed to the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz, respectively). With James turning 40 in December, the Lakers may want to cash in those future picks for immediate help.

2. Did podcasting prepare J.J. Redick to be an NBA head coach?

J.J. Redick had a meteoric rise as a broadcaster and podcaster. He hosted two different wildly popular podcasts last season, in lucinb one with James, and joined ESPN's top NBA broadcasting team when Doc Rivers departed to coach the Milwaukee Bucks. Redick got to know James while breaking down basketball strategy on "Mind the Game," where the two went through game footage and a whole lot of wine .

But Redick hasn't coached anywhere, at any level. He's known as a heady basketball player, but it's hard to know how he'll do when put in charge of a whole team — especially one with two future Hall of Famers who don't necessarily need or want advice from their former peer. It's also not a job that tends to have a ton of security. Darvin Ham was lauded for leading the Lakers to the conference finals last summer, then was fired a year later. Frank Vogel won a title in 2020 and was gone after two more seasons.

Redick might be capable of becoming a quality head coach, but this is a brutal situation in which to do on-the-job training.

3. Can the Lakers superstars stay healthy?

Anthony Davis played 76 games last season, a career-high after missing 44 percent of the Lakers’ games in the three previous seasons. James played 71 games, the most he’s played in the regular season since joining the Lakers in 2018. (James only missed four games in 2019-20.)

They’re both a year older, and both spent the summer playing for Team USA in the Olympics. James and Davis are still elite players, but it’s hard to imagine they’ll be healthy for 147 combined games next season. The biggest factor in the Lakers’ success next year is the availability of James and Davis. No matter what Pelinka and Redick might do, the Lakers will go as far as their dynamic duo can take them.