There’s no question that Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves will be the Lakers’ backcourt starters this fall and Walker Kessler will be in the middle, but who will join that trio in the starting five? Jovan Buha of Buha’s Block (Twitter video link) views free agent addition Quentin Grimes as a lock for one of the remaining spots and suggests the fifth player would ideally be someone who can defend multiple positions, thrives off the ball, rebounds well, and is at least 6’7″.

Buha expresses defensive concerns about Sandro Mamukelashvili, doesn’t believe Matisse Thybulle checks the size or rebounding boxes, and is skeptical that either Jarred Vanderbilt or Adou Thiero can win the competition after playing modest roles last season. In Buha’s view, the decision is most likely to come down to Jake LaRavia vs. Ziaire Williams and will be determined in training camp and the preseason.

Here are a few more notes on the Lakers:

• As they look to raise capital ahead of their purchase of the franchise, incoming Lakers co-owners Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger are telling prospective investors that they’re projecting the value of the team to increase from $12.5 billion to at least $30 billion in the next decade, according to reporting from Jessica Toonkel and Mark Maurer of The Wall Street Journal. The WSJ duo obtained a copy of the investor presentation being circulated by Kushner’s investment firm, Thrive Capital, and share several interesting details from that document, including the Lakers’ projected revenue for 2026, which is broken down into several categories. The team is reportedly expected to generate $681MM in total revenue this year, including $180MM from its local television rights.
• Outgoing Lakers owner Mark Walter continues to deal with legal issues, as he and his companies have been sued in Florida federal court, writes Ben Horney of Front Office Sports (subscription required). The suit alleges that Walter, Delaware Life Insurance Company, Group 1001, TWG Global, and Guggenheim Partners misrepresented “the extent to which policyholder-backed investments were tied to Walter-related entities.”
• The newly relocated and rebranded Coachella Valley Lakers have named Alex Cerda as their head coach for the 2026/27 season, per a press release. Cerda has been an assistant coach for the Lakers’ G League affiliate for the past three seasons, including the past two under Zach Guthrie, who was promoted in July to be an assistant on JJ Redick’s NBA staff.