LA Lakers starting lineup and depth chart for 2024-25 NBA Season: Predicting JJ Redick’s rotation plans 

The LA Lakers enter a new era in the upcoming season under rookie coach JJ Redick. The Lakers continue making major unpredictable moves in the hopes of winning their 18th NBA championship and second with LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the charge.

However, that only reflected in their coaching staff changes and not their roster. The Lakers missed their chance to add marquee free agents like Klay Thompson and DeMar DeRozan. The "Lakers tax" (teams demanding more asset compensation) also affected the front office's inability to make significant trades.

The Lakers still have some faith in their current roster and believe a few tweaks can elevate the team's status as a threat in the stacked West. However, those moves may not happen until the trade deadline.

The LA Lakers nearly have an unchanged roster ahead of the preseason, with only a few departures (Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie) and additions made via the draft (Dalton Knecht and Bronny James).

Here's how the team's probable starting lineup and depth chart rotation could look like.

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LA Lakers starting lineup and depth chart for 2024-25 NBA Season

Position	1st (Starters)	2nd	3rd	4th
Point guards	D'Angelo Russell	Gabe Vincent	Jalen Hood-Schifino	Jordan Goodwin*
Shooting guards	Austin Reaves	Max Christie	Cam Reddish	Bronny James
Small forwards	Rui Hachimura	Dalton Knecht	Maxwell Lewis
Power forwards	LeBron James	Jarred Vanderbilt	Christian Wood
Centers	Anthony Davis	Jaxson Hayes	Christian Koloko	Colin Castleton

Note: Jordan Goodwin is on an Exhibit 10 contract.

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Predicting JJ Redick's rotation plans for LA Lakers

The LA Lakers are hopeful that JJ Redick's high IQ and plans to modernize the team's offense could elevate their chances of having a successful season. That means we could see more chances given to players that fit the mold of being legitimate threats from 3-point range, are comfortable in motion offense, and at least serviceable defensively.

Based on the roster available before opening night, Redick could start D'Angelo Russell at point guard, Austin Reaves at shooting guard, Rui Hachimura at small forward, LeBron James at power forward and Anthony Davis at center.

The LA Lakers used this lineup after 50 games into the 2023-24 season when they were 25-25 and struggling heavily. LA went 22-10 after the lineup change, shooting 38.8% from 3, the third-best mark across the league. The Lakers also had the third-best offense in the league, registering a 118.5 rating.

In 25 games and 389 minutes together, this five-man group posted a 116.0 offensive rating. Defensively, this lineup had glaring weaknesses, so if Redick wants some balance, he could opt to start Jarred Vanderbilt over Rui Hachimura.

The rookie coach is well-equipped to find a workaround for optimizing non-shooters like Vanderbilt to mitigate his weakness on offense and use the space offered to him to the team's advantage with various schemes.

As for the bench, Gabe Vincent, Max Christie, Dalton Knecht, Christian Wood and either Hachimura or Vanderbilt (whoever Redick puts in the second unit) will likely play crucial minutes. Vincent and Christie would be the ideal plug-and-play options off the bench because of their two-way versatility, while Knecht and Hachimura may not match their level defensively but have the length and offense to offset that issue.

Christian Wood could either play as a four or five, depending on whether Redick uses him to add more size next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis or replaces one with the former Rockets big man. Wood can space the floor with his 3-point shooting. He also proved to be a serviceable defender and sometimes an above-average presence defensively.

Maxwell Lewis is another prospect who could find minutes in the rotation over Cam Reddish and Bronny James. Lewis could be the immediate addition to the rotation in case of injuries to any of the other players in the wing rotation. Jaxson Hayes could bag that role among the centers.