Lakers Iron Man will land surprising starting 5 nod amid roster overhaul

When it comes to the Lakers’ lineup rotation for 2026-27, it’ll look a lot different for the team and coach JJ Redick compared to when the 2025-26 season ended just a few months ago. After an offseason roster reconstruction, over half of the players on the Lakers’ roster (nine players) will be new faces.And that doesn’t include younger players looking to fight for more playing time, such as second-year forward Adou Thiero and third-year guard Bronny James. While there are multiple players guaranteed to be featured in the Lakers’ rotation as long as they’re healthy and available, there are still several spots to fill.In light of training camp starting next week, and preseason games kicking off in 1 ½ weeks, here is the California Post’s best projection for what the Lakers’ rotation will look like once the regular season tips off in a month:Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Walker KesslerLet’s get the easy decisions out of the way. Doncic and Reaves are the Lakers’ star players, and were the league’s highest-scoring duo during the 2025-26 regular season.  In addition to sending the Jazz two unprotected first-round draft picks and two protected first–round picks, the Lakers are paying Kessler at least $30 million in each of the next few seasons after having interest in him the last few years. They didn’t make that investment to bring him off of the bench. Doncic, Reaves and Kessler are sharpied as starters. Quentin Grimes, Jake LaRaviaFrom investment and skillset standpoints, the expectation is Grimes will be a Day 1 starter.Grimes will be the Lakers’ fourth-highest paid player this season ($13.9 million salary) after signing a four-year, $60 million contract in July. And his complementary skills as a shooter and point-of-attack defender fill the needs the team has around their three marquee players. Not only is Grimes a lock for the rotation, but it’s a safe bet he’ll be a starter, too. The choices for the Lakers’ fifth starting...