LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
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Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick will elevate one of the team's wings to start in LeBron James' place while he is out with sciatica, but the team's recent health concerns are a growing reason why a trade could be unlikely.
The injury to LeBron Jameshas been amajor setback for the Los Angeles Lakers as the 2025-26 NBA seasonquickly approaches. Not onlyfor the fact that the Lakers will be without one of the best players in the history of the sport, but also because it leaves head coach JJ Redick without a clear vision of what the team looks like together on the court.
According to insiders, James expects to miss about three to four weeks. He will be out for theLakers’ season opener, and potentially longer, as he recovers from sciatica, which reportedly first became an issue months ago. While he expects to join the starting lineup when healthy, the teamis now asked the question of, “Who will start in LeBronJames’ place?”
Responding to that question in an article for The Athletic,Lakers’ insider Dan Woike wrote that he believes Jarred Vanderbilt is the man for the job.
“I think the LeBron injury at the start of the year is a good chance for the Lakers to slot Jarred Vanderbilt into the first five and solve some of their point-of-attack defensive needs with a player who, when healthy, has already started for this team,”Woike wrote.
He also mentioned Jake LaRavia as a potential candidate. Redick has multiple forwards to choose from when opening night comes around.
Filling Out TheLakers’ Lineup
Vanderbilt has seen more success on the defensive end of the floor,likely leaving a hole in theteam’s offense.However, if that is the case, Luka Doncic welcomes the opportunity to have a bigger role,though even if hedoesn’t believethat will be the case with James out.
“I don’t view it that way,”Doncic said when asked ifhe’ll need to do more afterJames’ injury. “I just want to play basketball. If I do less, if I do more, whatever it takes for me to get a win.”
Vanderbilt has been with the Lakers for two and a half years now, and though injured for much of that time, has more experience playing with Doncic and Austin Reaves compared to some of the other candidates.
Jarred Vanderbilt, who was sidelined to begin last season, says he feels for what LeBron James is going through with his sciatica. “It sucks … But I would say we’re excited to have him whenever he comes and he is available” pic.twitter.com/G6RAQDeXi9
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 13, 2025
LaRavia remains an option for Redick as well.However, hehasn’t shown his true potentialyet and has been a player who fills in the cracks rather than doing anything particularlygreat through his first few seasons in the league.
“One of the knocks on him is thathe’s not really elite at any one thing, but as a contributor to winning, being capable (and willing) to impact the game in a bunch of undefined ways can be a real strength,”Woike wrote on LaRavia.
Los Angeles has a couple of other options at forward to choose from, but according to Woike, Dalton Knechtwon’t be one of them, even if his minutes increase with James sidelined.
“With James out, the pathway to minutes for him is much clearer, and he should get a nice runway at the start of the year to make an impact if he can do some of the other parts of the game thatdon’t involve scoring,”he added on Knecht.
JJ Redick with a thoughtful answer on how he determines all of his lineups – starters, bench and rotations. “When we do our substitution metrics: who is going to guard? Who is going to create? Are we going to have enough shooting?” pic.twitter.com/vMLLj5qm4S
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 13, 2025
Woike Says A Trade Is Unlikely
The question of who will start for the Lakers remainstobe answered, but Redick will likelygive updates and make a decision over the next few days. Whilethatcould be answered soon, many are stillasking the question of whether the Lakers will make a trade in the near future.
Woike responded to that as well, writing thatJames’ injury is playing a part in why he believes Los Angeles will stay quiet for the time being. Due to the recent injuries and health concerns of not just James but also Reaves, Marcus Smart, Adou Thiero, and others, Redickhasn’t seen what this team looks like when fully healthy.
“I don’t thinkthere’s an obvious move to be made right now for a bunch of reasons, most of them stemming from the total lack of information about the strengths and weaknesses of the roster,”Woike wrote. “Wewon’t have that information for quite some time. I thinkthat’s the root of some of the frustration/impatience from the fan base and, well, maybe the media too.”
His perspective that the Lakers will wait and seeon what movesthey’ll make based onwhat the team needs comes just days after another Lakers insider, Jovan Buha, reported that he thinks the team is closely eyeing the trade market.
For now, the Lakers are set with their current roster, filling in the gaps while they wait forJames’ return. If a star becomes available, it is fair to say general manager Rob Pelinka will take a shot, but that remains unlikely until thefull roster is on the court together.