Lakers' JJ Redick's $11M hidden gem has made 'life easier' for LeBron James, Luka Doncic

The Los Angeles Lakers are starting to play their best brand of basketball of the entire season, which has made them a scary playoff team. For the longest time, it didn’t seem as if they were going to be contenders, but they are exactly where LeBron James has wanted them to be all along.

“LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Rich Paul told ESPN. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we've had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.”

The main goal that Luka Doncic wanted to see was a strong roster built around him, something he discussed with the Lakers back in May.

“Dončić being just 26 gives the Lakers a far longer timeline to build a championship-contending team, but that doesn't mean they can slow down and take their time. Dončić told Lakers president Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick in May that he's not interested in taking the slow approach in building a contender,” CBS Sports’ Jasmyn Wimbish wrote.

The Lakers have started to play their best basketball over the last few weeks, and a big reason for that has been on the defensive end. The player who has helped unlock that for Los Angeles is Marcus Smart.

“By having him guarding opposing teams' best wings and players much taller than him as a 6-foot-3 guard, he is being challenged and forced to compete extremely hard to have a chance to get a stop. This has maximized everyone else in the starting five defensively. Smart taking on these challenges makes life easier for Luka and LeBron on that end. Also, by having him string together stops on the perimeter, it's limited the amount of work Ayton needs to do as a rim protector,” Lake Show Life’s Chris Lambert wrote.

The Lakers have figured things out for the most part, and it is largely due to head coach JJ Redick and his willingness to explore all options. The team has won nine of its last ten games.

It is no coincidence that the Lakers have played their best basketball since Smart moved into the starting lineup. James and Dončić are very pleased with where the team is and hope to make a deeper playoff run this time around.

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