The Lakers’ starting five looks close to settled in four spots, but the final opening is still wide open.
Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Quentin Grimes and Walker Kessler appear to be locked in, leaving one job for a group with no clean answer. In a Lakers Nation roundtable, two staff members went with Jake LaRavia, two picked Ziaire Williams and one chose Matisse Thybulle.
That split tells the story. There’s appeal in each option, but none of them solves every issue.
LaRavia brings some built-in comfort after sharing the floor with Doncic and Reaves last season. He also gave the Lakers useful scoring early, averaging 10.0 points and hitting 35.3 percent of his threes through Jan. 15 before fading in the second half and the playoffs.
Williams offers a different look. He’s the more athletic choice and could take on the opponent’s top wing, which would let Grimes stay focused on guards. His improved shooting helps make the fit more believable on offense.
Thybulle gives Los Angeles the best defensive disruption, but his presence would squeeze the spacing. Sandro Mamukelashvili is another option, bringing shooting and passing, though using him off the bench next to Collin Sexton could give the Lakers a steadier reserve pairing.
The early lean here would be Williams. The other four starters already provide enough creation. What they still need is length, athleticism and someone who can take on the toughest defensive assignment.
And even if a player starts, that doesn’t mean he has to finish. JJ Redick can change that spot depending on the matchup.
In Cleveland, Brandon Weems’ promotion to Cavaliers general manager says as much about the organization’s philosophy as it does about the man getting the job.
The move keeps the front office structure intact. Weems has been with the Cavs since 2015, when he arrived as a scout, and climbed through the organization as director of scouting, senior director of player personnel and assistant GM, according to Ethan Sands of Cleveland.com.
Now he steps in as Koby Altman’s top lieutenant, replacing Mike Gansey after Gansey left to run the 76ers.
The Cavaliers also elevated Jon Nichols to associate general manager and named Brendon Yu and Jose Calderon assistant general managers.
The titles matter, but the bigger point is continuity. Cleveland has built around Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, and it clearly decided the operation that helped assemble that group didn’t need to be torn down and rebuilt.
Weems has spent more than a decade working toward this moment. Now he gets the chance to do the job with more authority.
In Miami, the headline names are there: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo and Klay Thompson. But the Heat’s ceiling may still hinge on the players further down the list.
Austin Dobbins of Heat On SI looked at the outlook for Nikola Jovic, Dru Smith, Simone Fontecchio, Bobby Portis and Nick Richards, and the common thread is simple: Miami needs production from the supporting cast.
Jovic is the biggest swing factor. His size, shooting and ball handling make him look like an ideal complementary piece, but injuries and inconsistency knocked him out of the rotation last season.
A bounce-back year would give Erik Spoelstra another versatile forward. Another lost season could put Jovic’s future with the team in doubt.
Smith can earn minutes with defense and smart decision-making, but he shot just 29 percent from three last season. He doesn’t need to become a primary scorer; he just needs to hit enough shots that defenses can’t ignore him.
Fontecchio’s job is even cleaner. He has to make threes. If the shot stops dropping, so does his path to regular minutes.
Portis is expected to bring energy, rebounding and scoring off the bench, while his defense will help determine whether Spoelstra trusts him in bigger moments.
Richards gives Miami real size behind Adebayo, especially on nights when Bam sits or is unavailable.
The Heat don’t need every role player to hit his ceiling. But they probably need at least two of them to get close.
In Other News...
Kevin Love Brought Back A Cavs-Raptors Joke Toronto Still Hates
Kevin Love showed up in Toronto for Kyle Lowrys jersey retirement celebration and immediately nudged an old playoff wound back into the conversation. With former Raptors teammates around and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow presenting Lowry with the Key to the City, the night was built around honoring one of the franchises defining players, while the Raptors also announced that Lowrys No. 7 will be retired on Jan. 10, 2027.
Love, of course, could not resist leaning into the Cavaliers-Raptors history that still lingers for both fan bases, jokingly using the word LeBronto in reference to those postseason clashes. It was a light bit of nostalgia in the middle of a bigger celebration, but it also served as a reminder that even in a tribute setting, the old rivalry can still get a reaction north of the border. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Fans Still Feel The Pain Of These Brutal What-Ifs
Cavaliers fans have had plenty of time to replay the franchises most frustrating what-ifs, and a lot of them trace back to players who arrived in Cleveland with real promise before injuries or other setbacks changed everything. Isaiah Thomas, Dajuan Wagner, Luke Jackson, Anthony Bennett and Anderson Varejao all become part of that same conversation for different reasons, but the common thread is easy to see: their availability never matched the hope that came with their arrival.
For a team that has spent years trying to stabilize its roster and build around reliable contributors, those lost stretches matter. Each case carried its own kind of disappointment, whether it was a brief window that closed too soon or a career arc that never really got the chance to take off, and together they left Cleveland with a long list of alternate histories fans still think about. [Read more 🡒]