The Los Angeles Lakers overhauled their roster this offseason, as they got their first opportunity to fully build around Luka Doncic after their bombshell trade for him in February 2025. They lost four of their consistent starters last season in LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, and Deandre Ayton, so it will be interesting to see how the Lakers' starting lineup heading into the 2026-27 campaign shakes out.
At the very least, it should go without saying that the Lakers already have three guaranteed starters in Doncic, Austin Reaves, and their big offseason signing in Walker Kessler, the $130 million man. How head coach JJ Redick rounds out the starting five is something that fans will be monitoring this preseason.
LA has not yet played with its full strength squad during exhibition season, with Reaves and Kessler missing both of their games thus far. At this point, projecting what their starting lineup will be for the start of the regular season is all going to be based on speculation.
Whatever the case may be, it looks as though one player who started quite a handful of games for the Lakers last season will be retreating to a bench role on a full-time basis for this upcoming campaign.
Jake LaRavia will be coming off the bench
LaRavia was one of the Lakers' biggest pickups last offseason, and he was a solid enough role player who didn't get injured — literally. He was the only player LA had last season who played all 82 games, and as a consistent fixture of the roster, he ended up starting 43 games for the team.
The start of this offseason was rather odd for the Lakers in that they added big men in Kessler and Sandro Mamukelashvili, and they also reinforced their backcourt with the additions of Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton — forgetting to address their wing needs with a more established player. It looked like LaRavia was going to start at the three by default.
The Lakers knew that they needed more depth at the forward spots, which explains why they aggressively pursued Jonathan Kuminga before Kuminga decided to sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
But in the very first game of preseason, Redick opted to start both Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle over LaRavia, which suggests that the man who started 43 games for the team last season may be behind those two in the pecking order.
Williams, in particular, appears to be a major candidate for a starting spot in LA. He is turning heads in training camp, as he is bringing the necessary defensive energy and willingness to establish a defensive identity for the team. The Lakers need every bit of defensive help they can get considering that Doncic and Reaves aren't the best defenders in the world, and Williams, who stands at 6-foot-9, could be the man for the job.
Williams also shot the three-ball better than LaRavia did last year (34.3% compared to just 32.1%, respectively), and he might be on track for a breakout year considering that he's playing with two uber-talented playmakers in Doncic and Reaves.
The 25-year-old becomes a more important starting lineup piece, especially if Grimes ends up being the fifth starter. Grimes provides the threat of a movement shooter for LA, and it's not like he's terrible on the defensive end. But he doesn't have the best size (he's only 6-foot-4), and the Lakers will need rangier wings to cover for their more offensive-oriented players.
Sandro Mamukelashvili could also start a few games here and there for LA. But he's not the most adept defender in space either, and he might be better suited for a bench role where he'll have more opportunities to fill up the scoring column.
It will be interesting to see just how big of a role Thybulle plays for the team. Thybulle played in a grand total of 45 games over the past two seasons, however, so even though he shot 41.1% from deep in those games, it might be in the Lakers' best interest to limit his workload so they can have his services throughout the 2026-27 season.
Make no mistake about it, LaRavia still has a place in the Lakers' rotation. After all, he's one of the teams only true combo forwards left, and every contending team needs functioning wings.
Doncic always had someone like Dorian Finney-Smith or Reggie Bullock holding it down for him as 3-and-D players, with a secondary playmaker helping him shoulder the offensive workload — all while having a big man who can clean up on the interior. The Lakers are following the Mavericks' roster-building blueprint from the early 2020s, and LaRavia should still play a role for the team.
Lakers found upgrades on LaRavia in free agency
Alas, it's clear that the Lakers upgraded over LaRavia in multiple ways. They got a defense-first player with better physical tools in Williams. Grimes is a much-better shooter and connective piece on offense.
LaRavia does a lot of things well, but he doesn't exactly excel in one major thing, which is why his role may end up being limited this season. LA will need their players to perform more specialized functions as they fully hand over the keys to Doncic and Reaves, and LaRavia, as a jack of all trades sort of player, will have to show major strides as a three-point shooter and defender to earn more minutes.
But at the end of the day, considering the Lakers' newfound depth, Redick will undoubtedly mix and match his starting lineups through the season. Against bigger teams, Mamukelashvili could draw some starts. Against smaller teams, having Grimes and Williams on the wings should be that much more effective. And LaRavia shouldn't fret, as he should still see good minutes as someone who is familiar with Redick's system.
LaRavia's durability should lead to more than a handful of starts
Off the bat, LaRavia may come off the bench. But the regular season is 82 games long, and the style of play in today's NBA makes it so that players put a ton of mileage on their bodies as they need to cover a ton of ground on both ends.
Thus, by virtue of sheer durability, expect LaRavia to pick up at least 10 starts next season.