Two teams with every expectation that they will be in the mix come the spring will open the season against each other Tuesday when the Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Lakers will try to squeeze another quality season out of a veteran duo in LeBron James and Anthony Davis while the team receives a much-needed injection of youth from newcomers Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, the 20-year-old son of the team’s star.
The new-look Timberwolves elected to shake up the top of the roster by retaining Anthony Edwards but trading Karl-Anthony Towns for the high motor of Julius Randle, who averaged 23.3 points and 9.9 rebounds over the past four seasons for the New York Knicks.
The elder James will turn 40 at the end of December yet looks as spry as ever with the arrival of his son, who played one season at Southern California before making the jump to the NBA. Also adding an injection of energy is new head coach JJ Redick.
“If we have a special group, we’ll win some games and we’ll be in a position to compete for what we ultimately want,” Redick told the Orange County Register. “It also means our players are getting better and we’re enjoying coming to work every day.”
Los Angeles finished 47-35 last season, eighth in the Western Conference, before advancing to the main playoff field after a victory in the play-in tournament. They were eliminated in the first round by the Denver Nuggets.
James averaged 25.7 points with 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists, his highest assist rate since posting a career-best 10.2 mark in 2019-20, when the Los Angeles won its most recent title. He played 71 games last season, his high total in six seasons with the Lakers.
Davis averaged 24.7 points with a career-best 12.6 rebounds and was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive first team for the third time in his career.
In Minnesota, Edwards is coming off his best season, when he averaged 25.9 points with 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists, finished seventh in MVP voting and landed on the All-NBA second team. He finished the summer with a gold medal while playing with James and Davis for Team USA at the Paris Olympics.
Most important of all last season, Edwards guided the Timberwolves to a 56-26 regular-season record and a trip to the Western Conference finals, whey they were upended by the Dallas Mavericks.
However, in an effort to build a more complete roster around Edwards, the Timberwolves elected to trade Towns, who put up 21.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game last season, for the muscle of Randle, who has been an All-Star three of the past four seasons.
Minnesota also received Donte DiVincenzo in the deal to maintain a 3-point shooting presence with the departure of Towns.
The Timberwolves are elite on defense, thanks to the inside presence of reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, and will strive to further develop their overall offensive game.
“Where we’re at now feels like it’s in a really good place,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said as his team prepared for its final preseason game. “Feels like ahead of the curve. … (When) they start counting the stats for real, sometimes the ball tends to get a little sticky. So hopefully, that’s not the case.”
