Though the Los Angeles Lakers are mostly focused on free agency and the trade market right now, head coach JJ Redick is still tinkering with his coaching staff. This time, he’s bringing in another former Duke Blue Devil.
Duke announced on social media that the Lakers have hired Justin Robinson to serve as a player development coach. He previously held the position of director of player development at Duke since 2023.
The Blue Devils had three players drafted in the lottery of the 2025 NBA Draft, and Robinson deserves at least some credit for helping that happen. However, he’s not only notable for his last couple of years at Duke.
Robinson is the son of San Antonio Spurs Hall of Famer David Robinson. It’s easy to forget, but the Lakers and Spurs were great rivals for a long time before both franchises started to go through some rough patches.
Despite that, Los Angeles wanted to bring in his son. Justin Robinson was also a player at Duke and played professionally overseas for several seasons. He’s only 28, so there’s room to grow, but he’s proven to have a knack for player development early in his career, and Redick should have some good intel on Robinson due to his Duke ties.
Lakers Will Need Strong Player Development
The Lakers have proven to be a franchise that needs stars to thrive. The problem with that is that the current salary cap structure makes it very difficult for teams to pay stars while filling out the rest of the roster.
That’s why Robinson’s job as a player development coach is very important. The Lakers need to find young players in the draft and free agency who can make an impact. The team has found hidden gems like Alex Caruso and Austin Reaves in the past, but they’ll need more of those types of players going forward, especially since Luka Doncic is on his way to getting a massive contract extension in the near future.
Rob Pelinka Talks Jake LaRavia Signing
The first move the Lakers made in free agency was signing forward Jake LaRavia. He’s not a big name who gets the fan base riled up, but he’s a former first-round pick and hit 42.3% of his 3-point shots last season.
He’s shown some real promise, and there’s still room for him to grow. With the Lakers losing Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency, they’ll need LaRavia to play a big role this season. President of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka thinks he’s the perfect fit on the roster.
“Jake is a high-IQ two-way player with ideal skills for a JJ Redick basketball system,” Pelinka said, via NBA.com. “He’s a disruptive defender who uses his size and physicality to create turnovers. Offensively, he can score at all three levels and has a knack for creating space for himself and his teammates. Being just 23 years old, we think Jake has significant basketball upside, which will be honed nicely in our Lakers basketball development program.”
There are a lot of eyeballs on the Lakers, so if LaRavia plays well in Los Angeles, his next payday will be significant.
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