Lakers vs Kings California Classic preview and Game Thread: Let the summer games begin

Lakers rookies Dalton Knecht and Bronny James make their professional debuts, while Maxwell Lewis and Colin Castleton headline this year’s summer games roster.

Before heading to Las Vegas for the annual NBA Summer League games, the Lakers will participate in the California Classic tournament on Jul. 6-10. Their first matchup will be against the Sacramento Kings, who, along with the Golden State Warriors, are hosting this year’s games.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Sacramento Kings

When: 1:30 p.m. PT, July 6

Where: Chase Center

Watch: ESPN, Spectrum Sportsnet

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It’s that time of the offseason again when we see the newest rookies and young bloods around the league go at it during the summer.

The Lakers’ offseason may be considered underwhelming so far, but not in terms of the young talent they added to the roster during the NBA Draft.

On Saturday, we’ll finally get the chance to see this year’s 17th overall pick, Dalton Knecht and 55th pick, Bronny James, make their professional debuts against the Kings.

We’ll also see familiar faces, such as sophomores Maxwell Lewis and Colin Castleton, compete in the California Classics for the second straight year.

But that’s not to say that the spotlight will only be on those four players. The Lakers’ summer team is filled with mostly undrafted prospects and developmental projects, like two-way signings Blake Hinson and Armel Traore. They aim to take the Austin Reaves route, taking advantage of these summer games to make a name for themselves and hopefully earn a role in the league.

It will also be interesting to see how Dane Johnson — the Lakers’ coach for this year’s summer games — leads the squad.

Johnson was the head coach of the South Bay Lakers last season, who finished the G-League season with a record of 18-16. Let’s see how the development coach performs under brighter lights.

Surely, there will be a lot of reactions during these next few weeks, especially considering how the national media has covered Bronny lately. But more than anything, this is an important time for the Lakers’ rookies to get their feet wet, compete hard and prove their worth in these games.

Hopefully, the Lakers team will give fans something to smile about this summer amid a dull offseason. Let’s see how they begin their summer stint in San Francisco against the Kings on Saturday.

Notes and Updates

• This will be the sixth year of the California Classic tournament. The Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs and the Chinese national team will all participate.
• In case you missed it, the Lakers’ 17th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Jalen Hood Schifino, will not compete in the California Classic or Las Vegas Summer League as he recovers from back surgery.
• After Los Angeles plays Sacramento on Saturday, they will take on the Warriors the following day and then the Miami Heat to conclude the tournament.

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani