LA’s new ‘genius’ should add fire to Warriors-Lakers rivalry originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Perpetually scanning the globe in search of every nickel, the NBA put all four Warriors vs. Los Angeles Lakers games on national TV last season, repeating the pattern of the previous two seasons. Of course. It’s a rivalry of sorts, involving two teams with a lot in common.
Mostly, though, it’s smart business by the league.
Which is aware the matchups are about to get hotter. The arrival of JJ Redick as Lakers coach adds a dash of spice. Redick is, like Warriors coach Steve Kerr 10 years ago, a former NBA shooting guard taking his first steps into coaching and determined to prove he can handle the task.
While Kerr had to win over the Warriors – after Mark Jackson led them to back-to-back NBA playoff appearances for the first time in 20 years – the Lakers quickly are hopping aboard the Redick train. Perhaps because they realize it had LeBron James’ stamp of approval.
But Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves, assessing the offseason at the recent American Century Championship golf tournament at Lake Tahoe, takes his belief in Redick to the highest conceivable level.
“It’s been great,” Reaves told NBC Sports Bay Area on the latest “Dubs Talk.” “Hiring JJ, and then through the draft we got two really good players. I had a good conversation with JJ. I think he’s a basketball genius.
“He knows the game at a high level, has played for a long time, so he’s kind of been in the midst of the flow of games. I think he’ll be able to control games pretty well.”
Well, now. it seems the LA’s new sheriff has his troops aligned. The Lakers have done some light retooling, but the Warriors have done substantial reshaping of not only their roster but also their identity.
Klay Thompson, Golden State’s shooting guard since 2011, has left the scene. The Splash Brothers are no more, so the Warriors added two veteran guards, Buddy Hield and De’Anthony Melton, along with veteran forward Kyle Anderson.
Despite spending his teenage years in Southern California – and being a big fan of LA superstar Kobe Bryant – Thompson upon becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer chose the Dallas Mavericks over the Lakers.
Reaves is left to ponder what might have been.
“When you get a guy with that high level of professionalism, that’s been in so many big games, that he contributed … you think back to a lot of those playoff runs where he single-handedly won games for [Golden State],” he said. “And big games. I think it was Game 6 against OKC (correct, in 2016), he went absolutely crazy. Anytime you could pair up with a guy like that, that can shoot the ball that well, that’s the ultimate competitor, you want to do that.
“But he went to Dallas. I tip my hat to him because of the injuries that he’s been through, battling back and getting a lot of criticism on the way.”
But that won’t diminish the real and psychological stakes that will be in play when the Warriors and Lakers meet next season. Some of the faces have changed, but the two leaders, Golden State’s Stephen Curry and LA’s James, will continue to represent.
Curry and James, combatants in the NBA Finals four consecutive seasons, are the twin touchstones of their generation. That grants them automatic rivalry status any time the face each other.
“I really think it’s almost Bron against them, just because they played against each other for so long,” Reaves said. “In the Finals. When you know you got Bron on the team, and you got Steph on [their] team, you’re always going to get high-level basketball – especially against one another. They always want to play you know their best against one another.”
Most of those involved in recent seasons remain in place. The Lakers still have the formidable duo of Anthony Davis and James, with Reaves on the rise. The Warriors still have Draymond Green and Curry as their leaders.
Klay will be missed, but there will be plenty of heat in the room.
“With Steve and Steph still being there, and obviously Draymond, I think it’s going to be a lot of the same,” Reaves said. “They got Buddy now, so Buddy can shoot it. I haven’t really looked into it in depth, but if you just plug Buddy into the Klay role, what that looks like. I’m not saying that that’s what they’re going to do, but it kind of makes sense at first glance glimpse.
“But anytime you got Steph on the team, you’ve got an opportunity to win because he’s such an amazing player.”
The NBA will release the 2024-25 schedule next month. Rivalries will be noted. Wisdom and dollars will lead to four more national TV games between the Warriors and Lakers.
NBC Sports BayArea
