As Lakers prepare for summer league, winning is the only priority

As Lakers prepare for summer league, winning is the only priority

As the Lakers gear up for their trip to the Las Vegas iteration of the NBA summer league, the team’s focus is on one thing â€" winning.

President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka haven’t been shy about their plans to bring a pair of superstars to Los Angeles next summer. But with a roster full of unproven youngsters, the Lakers brass knows that for the team to be an attractive free-agency option, it needs to instill a winning culture.

For summer league head coach Jud Buechler, that starts now.

“My intention is to go in and win summer league,” he said. “One of the big things that Rob talks about is our mentality of winning here, and I think it starts right now during the summer league. So we’re going there to win.” Their first game is against the Clippers at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Buechler said the key to the Lakers’ success is going to be at the defensive end, where the Lakers finished at the bottom of the league last season.

“You know we were 30th in defense last year and that has to change, and it has to change right now,” he said. “So I made it clear and the rest of our coaching staff made it clear with our players that our focus is defense and that’s a mentality in itself.”

After just three practices, the Lakers are still adjusting to each other's tendencies and personalities. But more important, said Buechler, is that they are learning how to approach the game as professionals.

He raved about No. 2 draft pick Lonzo Ball’s professionalism, noting that he was in El Segundo at the practice facility working out almost immediately after last month’s NBA draft.

Though he’s a man of few words, Ball acknowledged the importance of taking the game as seriously as possible.

“It’s a job now,” he said. “You gotta have fun doing it, but at the same time, it’s your life.”

The expectations and hype surrounding Ball have swelled in the three months since his last game at UCLA. Regardless, he kept his looming summer league debut in perspective.

“It’s just kind of the starting point,” he said. “It’s the first time we’re gonna get to play together against other people. So it should be a lot of fun.”

Though Ball will probably attract the most attention in Las Vegas, the 11-day tournament is just as important for the development of the rest of his teammates. In addition to rookies such as Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart, the roster will also include second-year players Ivica Zubac, Brandon Ingram and David Nwaba. Buechler says the hope is that the more experienced players begin to st ep into their roles as leaders of the team.

Ingram, who according to Buechler has been much more vocal thus far, said he is looking forward to the opportunity.

“I think now I have information that I can give back and have the opportunity to help try to lead these guys and put them in the right positions on the basketball floor and off the basketball floor,” he said.

tyler.blint-welsh@latimes.com

Follow Tyler Blint-Welsh on Twitter @tylergabriel_

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