Sandro Mamukelashvili has struggled to find his fit in the NBA, but it looks as though the Lakers are suiting him nicely.
Through his first few games of the season, JJ Redick has been impressed by what he’s seen from Mamukelashvili, particularly on the offensive side.
“He’s a really rare offensive player because he’s an advantage creator in some ways,” Redick said. “So if he’s guarded by a five and he can pick and pop into space, that’s an advantage creation. He’s really good at follows and touch rolls, roller behind, so that’s an advantage creation. So he’s an advantage creator and then his 0.5 [second] decision-making and his shooting ability and finishing ability, he’s an advantage finisher. And then on top of that, he’s also a connector. There’s very few offensive players that are all three of those things and he is.”
Mamukelashvili had a breakout season with the Raptors in 2025-26 and played his former team for the first time on Sunday night.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic expressed how happy he was to see his former player secure a four-year, $52 million contract with a player option in the final year for LAL.
“Sandro is a great player. We were really lucky to have him with us. I’m really happy for him that he got a contract that that he deserves. He put a lot of work in,” Rajakovic said. “He’s a player that can cover multiple positions, play the 3, 4 or 5, very dynamic in the open court, good finisher. He’s somebody who really made a big step in his career with us, so really proud of him. With the Lakers, he’s bringing all of those attributes. He’s gonna space the floor, he’s gonna play the four or five. They’re really using him in the same way we did.”
The Lakers clearly targeted Mamukelashvili as a player they wanted early in free agency, and Redick explained why.
“We’ve watched him now for a few years as he has kind of increasingly gotten minutes in the NBA and I think he’s even better than I thought he was just from being around him every day,” Redick said before Sunday’s game. “He’s obviously also a fantastic human being. But the size, the skill… I was with him before out team meeting and we were talking about some stuff, but one of the things I said to him is he’s a really rare offensive player because he is an advantage creator in some ways.
“So if he is guarded by a five, he can pick and pop into space and that’s an advantage creation. He’s really good at follows and touch rolls… So he’s an advantage creator and then his point five decision making and his shooting and finishing ability, he’s an advantage finisher. And then on top of that he’s also a connector. There’s very few offensive players that are all few of those things, and he is.”