Los Angeles

Lakers

During Lakers media day, Wood said he believed he has two more weeks of rehab and a two-week ramp-up process before he can play. While optimistic, this timeline does not align with the reports after his September knee surgery. At the time, it was stated that Wood would be re-evaluated in eight weeks, meaning he wouldn’t be ready for the start of the regular season. With this being the second procedure on Wood’s knee in the last calendar year, the Lakers exercising caution would be unsurprising. While Wood sits, Jarred Vanderbilt and Jaxson Hayes are two players competing for rotation minutes off the bench. The former can provide defensive value, but the playing time may not be enough for Vanderbilt to impact most fantasy leagues.

This was the most successful of the 19 starting lineups the Lakers used last season. According to the NBA’s data, the Russell/Reaves/James/Hachimura/Davis quintet went 21-8 (Redick noted they were 23-10 on the podcast) and posted a +5.5 net rating and a true shooting percentage of 63.1%. They also averaged three made 3-pointers per game, an area where the Lakers must improve. Hachimura shot 42.2% from three on 3.4 attempts per game last season and is a career 37.1% shooter. In this lineup, he should have ample opportunities to convert catch-and-shoot opportunities. He hasn’t been a great fantasy option for most of his NBA career, but Redick’s declaration makes Hachimura someone to consider taking a late-round flier on.

Less than 24 hours after the mutual interest between the two parties was initially reported, Koloko will sign with the Lakers. According to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, the contract is expected to be a two-way. If cleared to play by the NBA’s fitness panel, as blood clots ended his time with the Raptors, Koloko would potentially give the Lakers another option at the center position. Anthony Davis has made it known that he prefers the power forward role, and Christian Wood recently underwent knee surgery.

Wood missed the final two months of last season after undergoing surgery on his left knee, and now he’ll have another procedure on the same knee that will force him to miss the start of the season. He’ll be re-evaluated in early November, which means that Jaxson Hayes and Jarred Vanderbilt will likely see a few extra minutes to start the season at center behind Anthony Davis.

Goodwin spent most of last season with the Phoenix Suns, where he averaged 5.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists across 40 outings. He then notched 10.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 17 games with the Memphis Grizzlies.

It’s never too early to fill out the roster for training camp, with the Lakers making two such moves on Wednesday. Olivari, who began his college career at Rice before finishing at Xavier, was not selected in this summer’s draft. As for Kelley, the former Oregon State big man spent last season with the Maine Red Claws and has yet to make his NBA debut. It’s more likely that Olivari and Kelley wind up with the Lakers’ G League affiliate, and the Exhibit 10 contracts mean they would be in line for a $77,500 guarantee if they stick with the G League team for at least 60 days (if the Lakers waive them).

LeBron wasn’t able to make it two straight triple-doubles, but he came close as he added another gold medal to his resume. There wasn’t a dramatic comeback for Team USA, yet there were still plenty of late theatrics that made for a fun finish. LeBron wasn’t the one hitting the late shots, but he still had his hands all over this game. He’ll have about two and a half months before he starts year 22.

James and Stephen Curry did most of the heavy lifting for the United States, which advanced to the gold medal game despite trailing Serbia by as much as 17. The 39-year-old forward recorded a triple-double while playing 32 of a possible 40 minutes. Next up for LeBron and the Americans are hosts France, who became the first host nation since 1996 (USA) to advance to the gold medal game in men’s basketball.

James scored efficiently and continued to seamlessly act as his team’s primary distributor. He has the highest floor among all Team USA’s players and could need to ramp up his production for a highly-anticipated matchup against Serbia next.

Hachimura felt discomfort in his left calf following Japan’s overtime loss to France on Tuesday, with further examinations revealing an issue with the gastrocnemius muscle. Not only did he sit out the loss to Brazil, which eliminated Japan from contention for a quarterfinal berth, but Hachimura was not with the team. No details were provided regarding the injury’s severity, so it remains to be seen if this will linger until the Lakers open training camp in late September. Either way, he is not a great fantasy option on a team that boasts LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the frontcourt.