Five questions the Lakers are facing in training camp

Welcome back to the Lakers newsletter. I’m Dan Woike with the Los Angeles Times’ free inbox drop that takes you inside the Lakers and, judging by the responses to last week’s email, makes you angry about my TV takes.

The preseason is in full swing, the ‘How was your summer?’ and the ‘Can you believe the season is back?’ having been replaced by, “Will this thing just start already?�

While it’s still technically early in the preseason, the Lakers are 1-1 after two games, we’ve already started to see some of the big questions develop. Here’s what we’ve got so far:

What are the Lakers going to get out of LeBron James?

There haven’t really been many surprises with LeBron James’ energy and approach to the first days of training camp. He’s been like a Mountain Dew-fueled teenager at times, restlessly bouncing around the court. During a timeout Saturday in the preseason opener in San Francisco, James jogged onto the court and jumped up to grab the rim — despite being in street clothes for the night.

After ending last season by questioning his basketball mortality in a way he’s never publicly done before, some people wondered if James would actually call it quits.

But a few people close to James told The Times that night that they thought he was just physically and emotionally exhausted. They predicted any retirement thoughts would soon pass, which we know they did. Now he’s back with the Lakers, with insiders telling The Times that James has been extra engaged in camp, particularly from a leadership perspective.

How will that energy fare if the Lakers struggle early in the season for the second year in a row? Or how will it hold up if his foot starts to get sore or his ankle gives him problems? Will another round of rehabbing and managing an injury again zap those reserves?

On the court, the Lakers have reasons to be excited that they have the talent to best maximize James’ all-around skills as a player. In the opening week of training camp, coach Darvin Ham said James would be the Lakers’ quarterback, allowing him to set up offensive weapons like Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, etc.

The questions there mostly have to do with James’ three-point shooting — can he return close to the 36% he shot in 2020-21 and 2021-22?

What’s the next step for Austin Reaves?

I asked Ham this question in the Lakers’ locker room before their preseason opener and he didn’t hesitate before saying “All-Star,� Ham doubling down on comments he made over the summer when he said Reaves has that potential.

It’s not as crazy of an outcome as you might think, though if the Lakers’ stars are healthy, getting a third All-Star will mean that a ton of stuff would’ve had to go right. Reaves should get even more opportunities with the basketball in his hands — his play as a point guard in an opening week scrimmage had people buzzing.

Reaves has had some minor injury issues in his first two seasons and teams will definitely try to attack him physically over the course of the year, but there are no reasons to think his offense is going to show signs of regression. He averaged almost 17 points a game in the playoffs, and with his increased usage and an increased free-throw rate, 20 points isn’t totally out of the question.

Will the Lakers get the best out of Christian Wood?

There was a moment in the first half of the Lakers’ preseason opener with the Warriors when Christian Wood did exactly what he was supposed to do. He set a good screen for rookie guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, popped back to the three-point line and waited for the pass to come.

It didn’t.

Hood-Schifino, playing in his first NBA action, was a tick slow with his decision making and missed the big man, who was in a perfect spot for a rhythm three. That kind of shot never materialized for him again.

Instead, Wood’s buckets came off tough one-on-one shots — a skill he 100% has. But it’s probably not the skill they need most.

The decision to sign Wood late in free agency came after a lengthy recruitment, one to get Wood to accept the minimum contract the Lakers could offer and, more quietly, one to make sure everyone in the building was on board with the addition. The word early has been favorable when it comes to Wood, but the questions will be there throughout the next few months.

That’s not to mention the struggle you can probably anticipate Wood will go through finding out how to best fit with the Lakers. That’s not an easy process for any scorer, and it probably won’t be an easy one here.

Is Darvin Ham as good of a coach as his biggest fans think?

In the aftermath of the Lakers coaching search, Ham’s biggest fans in Milwaukee all said the same thing about him. Somehow, no matter how good or bad things would get around him, Ham would approach each day with the exact same attitude and energy, setting the tone for the kind of consistency a team needs to make it through a grueling season.

While things got rocky during his first season — and did they — Ham was usually the calmest figure, rarely showing any signs of frustration. His approach and willingness to work with his staff to cook up playoff game plans, earned him really high marks inside the locker room last season. Before the preseason opener, I asked Ham about how he evaluated himself after one year, and he pointed to that collaboration.

“I’ve never really doubted myself, but again, a smart man knows he can’t be the smartest man in the room,� Ham said. “Again, that’s why you surround yourself with the type of coaching talent that I was able to surround myself with.�

There are plenty of people inside the Lakers’ organization who think the team has the right coach and are excited to see what he can do in Year 2 with a more stable roster.

Which of the wild cards is going to hit?

The Lakers have had a lot of success at the back end of their roster, whether it’s been with late draft picks (or undrafted ones) or minimum free agents. It’s one of their biggest advantages — the Lakers offer a massive stage for players to showcase themselves and launch into a bigger contract/role somewhere else.

While people are pretty unanimous on Max Christie’s potential as a rotation player this season, don’t count out the impact Jaxson Hayes could make in a role off the team’s bench.

His energy in the opener as a screener and rim-runner — basically a player who sets a pick and dives with force toward the basket — opened up a lot of stuff for the Lakers offense, with the team’s guards excited to play with such an explosive athlete.

When he signed with the Lakers, some league insiders felt like the Lakers’ best passers would really unlock Hayes’ game. Like a lot of players on minimum deals, consistency, both in performance and opportunity, will be crucial. But he looked like a player who could maybe matter in the Lakers’ first live basketball action.

Song of the week

“Bad� (“Songs of Surrender� version) — U2

I spent my Sunday in Las Vegas ahead of the Lakers’ second preseason game monitoring ticket prices for U2’s concert at the Sphere, hoping they would somehow dip to a price I felt was reasonable. But by show time, I still hadn’t found what I was looking for. U2 is a strange band for me — I know they’re good and, obviously, they’ve got a ton of iconic songs. But when I told my wife I wanted to maybe go to the concert, she said, “Do you even like U2?� I had to pause before I said, “Um, yeah.� Rarely do I seek U2 out, but the “Songs of Surrender� versions of so many of their hits strips things down and is a good reminder of how anthemic U2 can be.

In case you missed it

Lakers drop preseason opener to Warriors without LeBron James and Austin Reaves

Lakers-Warriors takeaways: Anthony Davis is aggressive in limited minutes

Lakers’ Anthony Davis on what position he plays: ‘I’m a big man’

Veteran guard Gabe Vincent ready to adapt to new role with Lakers

‘Max Christie is a dog!’ Lakers’ second-year guard may be forcing his way into rotation

Lakers expecting more from Rui Hachimura. Good thing LeBron’s his teacher

LeBron James back to looking like a ‘freight train’ after last season’s foot injury