 | | Pelinka, Redick Wrap Up 2025-26 | | by Mike Trudell | | | In what may have proven to be the most pivotal day of the 2025-26 Lakers season, on April 2 at Oklahoma City, the Lakers lost both Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves to injury. | | | Not knowing if either star would return in time for the postseason, if at all, would have essentially ended the season for many teams.
But instead, led by coach JJ Redick and LeBron James, the Lakers doubled down on their commitment, finishing off a second straight 50-win regular season, and then beating the Houston Rockets 4-2 in Round 1 of the playoffs.
Reaves was able to return from his oblique strain by Game 5 of that series, helping to get the Lakers over the top, while Dončić remained out with a hamstring injury that cost him the next round against OKC as well. And, without their MVP candidate, the Lakers couldn’t get past the Thunder.
“A lot to be proud of in terms of back-to-back 50-win seasons, but certainly nothing that we’re satisfied about,” summarized President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka at Tuesday morning’s season-ending press conference. “This is a market with championship expectations. And now begins the process for leadership here - JJ, myself – to deconstruct the things in the season that went well. And then to look at the parts of the season that we can elevate and bring to the next level.”
Not having at least one of his three best players became a constant for Redick, who started the season without LeBron, lost Reaves for two different periods lasting around one month, and finished the season without Dončić. When all three were healthy, in March, the Lakers went 15-2, climbing from sixth in the West to third, and had the team feeling like it had a real chance to make a run.
"It ended up being a really hard-playing team, a really together team, and a team with a lot of heart,” said Redick. “I didn't want our season to end. I wanted this to keep going. I enjoyed every bit of this, this year.”
LA wasn’t the only team to suffer several injuries, and one way to mitigate such a loss is to improve the depth of talent on the roster, which is a goal heading into the offseason.
“If you look around the playoffs right now, I think depth is really important, athleticism and youth,” said Pelinka. “We have a lot of components of that on our roster, but we need to add to it. I think those are some of the key north stars that we need to look at … there's (multiple) ways to add to your roster if you commit to doing the hard work and commit to the process of adding the right pieces, and we'll be doing that through the draft and free agency and through trades. We've gotta find a way to have a roster that will compete with any team in the NBA. That's what we do here.”
Redick added that it’s not necessarily about playing a 10- or 11-man rotation, but just about the players on the back end of the roster, and if they can be called upon to play real minutes, and contribute where needed.
“That depth typically comes in roster spots 10-15 and whether that's internal development, draft, trade, free agency, whatever it is, we need to build depth beyond just an eight or nine-man rotation because you're naturally going to have injuries,” he explained. “You sit there and plan all summer for how your team's supposed to play and how your team's supposed to look, maybe five games out of the 92 games it was something that I had planned over the offseason. It really is about building that depth.”
Improvement will also continue to come within the coaching staff itself. |  | Yes, Redick won 50 games as a head coach in his first two seasons, something that hadn’t been done by a Lakers coach since Phil Jackson (2010-11); he also joined Pat Riley, Paul Westhead and Butch van Breda Kolff as the only coaches in franchise history to win 50 in their first two seasons. But he felt like he grew considerably from his first season to his second, and expects to evolve even more this offseason.
“The accumulation of intrinsic knowledge, it can compound,” he shared. “The first offseason I had as a head coach was not really an offseason. It was building my coaching staff, building our systems, building our languages. Last offseason, the work that I did and the work that my staff did, it prepared us to be better coaches this year.
“And it allowed us, I think, to have a lot of growth. And part of my job is to make sure my players get better and make sure my players can perform, but it’s also to make sure the 17 people that are up there are getting better, too. And I think, to a person, each one of them got better and we’re all excited about getting better this offseason and being in position when next season starts to have another year of growth.”
Over the next few months, Pelinka and Redick will oversee that expected growth in myriad ways, beginning with the NBA Combine in Chicago that Pelinka flew to directly after the press conference concluded. Then comes the Draft in June, followed by free agency, as the 2026-27 Lakers roster takes shape, with Dončić at the center of it.
“He's an incredible partner,” said Pelinka of Dončić, who continues to progress with his rehabilitation. “His basketball IQ on the court is something we get to see as fans. JJ and I get to see his basketball knowledge in terms of other players in the league and the way he wants to play and who he wants to play with. His knowledge-base is vast and so those collaborations with him are really inspirational.”
“I think he made a commitment, very early on, going back to last offseason with just the off-court relationship development part of being a leader, and part of getting people to play hard with you and play alongside you is developing relationships,” added Redick. “And he was very committed this year to developing those relationships, both on and off the court. I think him being more vocal in game, in film sessions, whatever it looked like.”
It was obvious internally and externally how close the Slovenian star got with the kid from Arkansas. Reaves, who started his Lakers journey as an undrafted free agent that’s gotten better, and better, in each of his five years, was on pace to make his first All-Star game before a Christmas Day injury. Reaves can become a free agent this summer.
“He started his journey here as a Laker and has made it very clear to us that he wants his journey to continue as a Laker,” said Pelinka. “And we feel the same way. We want his Odyssey to continue to unfold in the Purple and Gold … I think both sides have made it abundantly clear that we want to work something out where he continues his prolific career here." |  | Reaves mentioned after LA’s Game 4 loss to OKC on Monday night just how incredible it’s been for him to play alongside LeBron James, who took Reaves under his wing during his rookie season. LeBron, who’s been the NBA’s all-time leading scorer for several years, continued to either set, or add to, scores of other records as he someone still played at an absolutely elite level at age 41, in Year 23. For context, not a single player in NBA history matched LeBron’s production – 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, 6.1 rebounds – at age 35, let alone 41.
What’s next for the King?
“Still fresh from losing, and I don't know,” he said on Monday. “I don't know what the future holds for me. As it stands tonight ... I'll sit back and recalibrate with my family. When the time comes, you guys will know what I decide.”
Pelinka was asked where things stand with LeBron, who is a free agent, from the team’s end.
“I think in terms of LeBron, we probably haven't seen a player that has honored the game to the extent that he's honored the game,” Pelinka responded. “He's given so much to his teammates, to this organization. And the thing we want to do more than anything else is honor him back. And I think the first order of business there is allowing him to spend the time he needs to decide what his next steps are.
“Of course, any team, including ours, would love to have LeBron James on their roster. That's a blessing in itself just with what he does.”
Those are just a few of many significant decisions to come that will have a major impact on a Lakers franchise in constant pursuit of the ultimate prize.
Pelinka is excited for the challenge. “We’re going to be incredibly process-oriented about that, working closely with front office staff upstairs with the coaching staff to deliver a product and a roster next season that our Lakers fans can be incredibly excited about and honored by.” | | | | | |
