Coachella Valley Lakers gear up for start of inaugural season

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – The Coachella Valley Lakers hosted a media day at Acrisure Arena on Monday ahead of the start of their inaugural season. The Lakers will host the Salt Lake City Stars on Friday Nov. 6 to kick off the NBA G League season.

The Lakers started training camp Oct. 26 and many have been practicing with the main roster in Los Angeles. While the start of the season is just days away, they feel ready to hit the court for their new Coachella Valley fans.

"We're looking forward to playing here," guard Jace Carter said. "I think it's definitely different...but we're excited and we're really looking forward to playing on Friday and having a good experience."

The NBA G League is all about player development and preparing them to reach a main roster. As an affiliate of the LA Lakers, the Coachella Valley team will mirror the play of the main roster in the event athletes are called up.

"A lot of the schemes that Alex Cerda wants to run are coming directly from JJ Redick," foward Cole Swider said. "So you guys see a lot of a lot of athletes, a lot of high flying, a lot of a lot of speed, a lot of agility."

While the team will still be training in Los Angeles, and driving to the Coachella Valley for games, the players don't anticipate it being a challenge.

"You can look at it as this can be a tough year logistically, or you can look at it as an opportunity," Swider said."And that's one of the things that Coach Cerda and Nick Mazzella have been telling us that this whole entire training camp is like, 'Let's look at this as an opportunity.'"

The Coachella Valley Lakers will host their first game of the season at Acrisure Arena on Friday. Nov. 6. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. against the Salt Lake City Stars. Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing coverage.