‘This is a meritocracy’: Lakers open training camp with mandate of competition

Walker Kessler wasn’t focused on the stats. He wasn’t really counting the number of shots he swatted — “one or two” — or lobs he dunked — “like four probably” — in his official Lakers practice debut Tuesday.

The only thing the star center cared about was the competition on the court. He and his teammates delivered on that, Kessler said with a smile.

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The Lakers opened training camp Tuesday with a focus on competition as the new-look team takes shape. Six of the team’s top nine players from last season are gone. A month’s worth of practices and five preseason games are the stage as players audition to fill the vacant roles.

“This is a meritocracy,” coach JJ Redick said. “You got to earn your minutes, and you cheer for your teammates while you’re doing it.”

Redick can confidently lock in three starter in Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Kessler. The other two starting positions, and even the last spots on the roster as the Lakers need to trim at least one player to reach the NBA-maximum of 15 guaranteed contracts by Oct. 21’s season opener, remain up for grabs.

That’s how players prefer things.

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Read more: Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves ready to take charge of new-look Lakers

“Everybody has something to prove,” forward Sandro Mamukelashvili said at media day Monday. “Everybody’s very excited for the season. The guys are hard workers.”

Mamukelashvili appears to be the front-runner for the starting power forward spot because of his versatility and ability to be what Redick called “a connector” on offense. The stiffest competition comes on the wing, where the Lakers lauded their depth between offseason additions Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams, plus rookie Cameron Carr and progressing second-year forward Adou Thiero.

Redick said he has tried to give players clearly defined roles for them to earn minutes, and the depth of the wing group makes for a minuscule difference between fulfilling those requirements to stay on the court and falling short and sitting on the bench. After one day, Redick proudly reported the group “understood the assignment.”

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“That was exciting,” Redick said. “They set the tone for us defensively. There was a lot of physicality, a lot of grabbing and holding, a lot of disruption without gambling.”

After general manager Rob Pelinka reset the roster to match the timelines for the 27-year-old Doncic and 28-year-old Reaves, the group of almost all 20-somethings was eager and receptive to the first day of camp, Redick said. Players who were not participating in live play still peppered coaches with questions.

Redick, entering his third season as a head coach, relished the buy-in and interest from the young team.

Read more: How a healthy and motivated Walker Kessler could transform the Lakers’ defense

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“In terms of myself, the teaching part of it was something that I’ve maybe grown a little bit since like the very first practice I coached two years ago,” Redick said. “It’s a little different now.”

Last season, the Lakers relied on vocal veteran leaders such as LeBron James, 41, and Marcus Smart, 32. Now they have just one player in his 30s: That’s 30-year-old Kevon Looney, who smiled at the thought that he is suddenly the elder statesman of the team.

While Redick has emphasized the importance of Doncic and Reaves growing into larger leadership roles, Redick still set the tone from the coaching staff for the first day of practice.

“In film, I was ready to go fight somebody or something,” Kessler said, raising his fists with a smile. “He’s such a good motivator. He’s incredible. He’s really incredible. Having someone that’s done it for 15 years playing and now three years coaching, it’s easy to see why he’s so successful.”

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Beyer retires

Lakers assistant coach Bob Beyer retired this offseason, Redick confirmed Tuesday. The longtime assistant was a key part of Redick’s coaching staff when the first-time head coach was hired. Redick played for five seasons under Beyer in Orlando and then again in New Orleans.

“He’s, like, someone I explicitly trust and believe in,” Redick said. “He’s an incredible teacher. He was an incredible mentor for a lot of our young coaches and an incredible example.”