The Lakers are starting a season without LeBron James for the first time since 2018. Luka Doncic is the face of the franchise now. Austin Reaves is his second fiddle. But the new-look offense might not need either guard to run the show.

A recent message from AR suggests the Lakers want their new 27-year-old addition to take charge when he secures a defensive rebound, even with Doncic on the floor.  Speaking to reporters at practice, Reaves backed the Lakers’ new forward, Sandro Mamukelashvili, after a difficult start to the camp.

“We told him that, you know, he’s here for a reason, and we believe in him, and we want him to be himself. And that’s been the main message to him,” he said in a press conference, as per NBA reporter Dave McMenamin’s X post.

That role seems to be limited to transition situations after defensive rebounds, not half-court playmaking. Reaves then outlined the freedom the coaching staff wants Mamukelashvili to have.

“He’s got such a high basketball IQ that if he gets the rebound, he should play the one. And it doesn’t matter if I’m on the floor, it doesn’t matter if Luka is on the floor,” he added. “He gets it and always has a good matchup. We trust whatever he does, you know, playing the two. So he will be a really good player.”

The instruction is not a call for Mamukelashvili to replace Luka Doncic as the team’s primary half-court creator. It is permission to push the ball after a rebound instead of passing it to the guard.

At 6 ‘9, Mamu can force opposing bigs to defend in space while Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sprint wide and look for a pass or a scrambled defense. It is about using the first few seconds, not changing who runs the half-court offense. 

The 27-year-old has given the Lakers reasons to trust that read. 

Through three preseason games, he averaged 14 points and 3.7 assists in 19.4 minutes, shooting 57.1% from the field. Against the Sacramento Kings on October 8, he delivered 19 points and 4 assists in a 114-110 Lakers win. He made 7 of his 10 shots. 

That production follows a career-best season with the Toronto Raptors, where Mamukelashvili averaged 11.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, and 1.9 apg while shooting 38.9% beyond the arc.

The Lakers rewarded that growth with a four-year, $52 million deal this summer. 

His combination of shooting, passing, and ball-handling gives JJ Redick a different option from a conventional backup big, whether Mamu plays center or shifts to power forward. 

His role also fits the roster around Luka Doncic. 

The Lakers no longer have LeBron James’ size and playmaking to lean on. And they need other players to keep possessions moving when defenders load up on their lead guard. Sandro Mamukelashvili has said he wants to be a connector, taking advantage of the attention Luka Doncic and Reaves draw by spacing the floor. 

“I love passing; I think I got a good feel for it,” he said. “I don’t mind it, and I just love finding open guys… I wanna be that guy who is gonna play in the short roll and just be a connector or be a spacer or something.” 

There are still details to settle.

Mamu has played center, power forward, and different roles across the preseason. And he has acknowledged he must become more physical and improve his rebounding. The Lakers will need his defensive communication to hold up. Especially if he is asked to initiate transitions and then defend the paint on the other end. 

Reaves’ message is significant because it permits Mamu to make reads rather than simply fit into a rigid role. 

With Luka Doncic leading the new era and LeBron now in Philadelphia, the Lakers need more than one player capable of turning a rebound into offense.