newlook

LAS VEGAS — From the time Austin Reaves joined the Lakers in 2021 as an undrafted prospect, his basketball life centered around playing with a savant in LeBron James.

That no longer will be the case.

Reaves re-signed with the Lakers on a four-year, $185-million deal, but James decided to move on as he prepares to play an unprecedented 24th season.

Reaves was stunned when he heard about James’ decision while playing golf in Lake Tahoe. Nearly two weeks later, Reaves says he still is trying to process the development.

“I kind of was thinking about it last night when I got here,” Reaves said Monday in his first news conference since re-signing. “Starting the season without him being on the team is going to be different for me. He’s kind of all I’ve ever known. Just him being around, joking around, acting like he’s 15. But that’s his decision and like I said in Tahoe, anytime I’ve talked about it, I got nothing but love and respect for him and yeah, let’s play some golf soon.”

The contract Reaves signed was the richest in NBA history for an undrafted player. At 28 and entering his sixth season, Reaves wanted to stay in L.A.

“I wanted to be a Laker the whole time. We had that period from when the season ended until the first [of July] to get something done and we figured it out before then,” he said. “My heart was in L.A. the whole time.”

Reaves will become one of the de facto leaders of the Lakers along with Luka Doncic. The two once again will be one of the most dynamic backcourts in the NBA.

“Obviously my relationship with the guys that were on the team last year,” Reaves said of why he wanted to stay. “And then Luka. I mean, he’s one of my best friends on this planet. Talk to him almost every single day. He sends me videos of his golf swing and asks me what he can do to get better and I tell him I’m not a coach.”

The Lakers have overhauled the roster: All the players who started alongside Reaves in the playoffs last spring are gone. With the signing of former Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams on Monday, the Lakers have nine new players, all of them arriving either via trades, free agency or the draft.

“They’re good,” Reaves said of the moves. “Obviously, I’ve been with the guys that are leaving for a couple years and with Bron for five years and I hate to see guys like that go. But the pieces that are coming in, I’m very excited about and I’m happy to get started today and see where it goes.”

One of those new players is Walker Kessler, a 7-foot-2 center the Lakers felt fit best around Doncic and Reaves because he’s a lob threat, rim-protector and good defender and is developing his three-point shooting.

The Lakers got him from the Utah Jazz in a trade and then signed him to a four-year, $130-million contract. The Lakers sent out two unprotected first-round picks (2031, 2033) and two first-round pick swaps (2028, 2030).

Kessler, who played only five games last season after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, is aware the Lakers paid a big price to get him.

“It definitely makes you feel a certain way when you know an organization believes in you,” Kessler said Monday in his introduction. “And I think what they’ve invested, they’re showing that belief in a monetary value, not just with money, but like you said, assets. And for me, I’m somebody that if I know that they have that belief in me, I’m gonna run through a brick wall for them. That’s just how I’ve been wired my whole life and it definitely makes it a lot easier to go out there and compete for a team.”

Power forward Sandro Mamukelashvili could become a fan favorite, in part because of the tattoo he has on his lower left leg — a No. 24 in honor of Kobe Bryant.

Mamukelashvili, who signed a four-year, $52-million deal, averaged 11.2 points last season with the Toronto Raptors and shot 52.3% from the field, including 38.9% from three-point range.

“I got a Mamba Mentality tattoo. I just love his mindset,” Mamukelashvili said. “Growing up, I used to always say, “Mah-moo Mentality!’ So, I know it’s a little far from each other. But we are getting closer.”

When guard Collin Sexton, another new Laker, was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018, James left and signed with the Lakers. When Sexton signed a two-year, $19-million deal with the Lakers this month, James left again.

Sexton could only laugh about missing out on playing with James.

“He’s just leaving every time I arrive,” Sexton said, laughing. “That’s what it is. No, but one of the other coaches made the same joke yesterday. It’s cool, I know. I’ve always wanted to team up with him for sure, but it’s definitely cool knowing him and just having normal conversations and stuff, so that’s cool.”

Sexton averaged 15.4 points and shot 48.5% last season with Chicago and Charlotte. He’s ready for whatever role coach JJ Redick and the Lakers want for him.

“They believe in me,” he said. “And I just feel like at the end of the day, whenever a coach believes in you and like he said, he’s going to be hard on me and yelling and screaming at me. So, I like that. I think that’s what gets the best from me.”

President Donald Trump released an image of the new, limited-edition design for U.S. passports to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States in a post on social media, which includes an image of him posing behind the Resolute Desk. Photo by Donald Trump/Truth Social

June 27 (UPI) — President Donald Trump released the new design for the cover of U.S. passports, which features an image of him on one side and the signing of the Declaration of Independence on the other side.

The updated design follows a State Department announcement in April that a “limited-edition” passport with Trump’s image on it would be available this summer to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States of America.

The “specially designed” passport is expected to be available only at the Washington Passport Agency in Washington, D.C., with no extra cost, although design options online or in other locations will retain the current design, the department said at the time.

Trump shared the image in a post on Truth Social on Friday, as did the official White House account on X, with that account referring to it as the “Patriot Passport.”

“The U.S.A.’s New passport, which says, “Welcome, but be good!” Trump said in the post, which included an image of the front and back of the new design.

The limited-edition passport will be available at the D.C. passport office starting on July 6, and people who would like to get one must schedule an in-person appointment at the agency, the State Department said on Friday.

The department also has scheduled two special passport acceptance events specifically for the limited edition version, the first on Aug. 22 and the second on Sept. 26, both of which will be held at the Washington Passport Agency.

Justin Herbert is starting from the ground up in Mike McDaniel’s new-look Chargers offense.

The 28-year-old quarterback has dedicated much of the offseason to tweaking his footwork — putting his left foot in front of his right from the shotgun, against traditional NFL form — to fit Los Angeles’ new offensive coordinator’s scheme.

McDaniel prioritizes getting the ball to playmakers in space as efficiently as possible, as he did for four seasons as the Miami Dolphins head coach with speedy wideouts Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and envisions Herbert’s flip in footing accelerating and syncing the timing of passes with receivers’ route breaks.

“If guys train it so that they don’t have to think about it and they can be comfortable, you can do a couple things that put the defense in a bind with how you do your footwork,” McDaniel said at Chargers minicamp in El Segundo. “I don’t mandate it. With Justin, I really just showed him where I thought it would be advantageous, and he didn’t blink for a second and was excited to attack it.”

“The patternization in Mike McDaniel’s system has required some footwork changes,” added head coach Jim Harbaugh. “[Herbert’s] been working very hard, very hard at those. And as you would expect, Justin has picked it up.”

McDaniel said he got the idea as an up-and-comer on staffs in Houston and Washington alongside current 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and pointed to Matt Ryan and Tua Tagovailoa as recent quarterbacks with whom he has implemented the stance change and reaped positive results.

Herbert, who has been one of those traditional right-handed quarterbacks to have their right foot forward from the shotgun, has embraced his new coordinator’s methodology.

“It’s about playing the way that [McDaniel] sees the quarterback position being played,” Herbert said, “and talking about how we can get the ball to the receivers in a position where they can run with it and allow them to do the things that they’re so good at: making plays.”

To accelerate his adaptation, Herbert has thrown less in practice sessions and done plenty of drills without a football — two markers that are simply unlike the seven-season veteran, who is known to sling the rock plenty at practice and in games.

McDaniel and Harbaugh added that, besides helping Herbert adjust his feet, keeping the ball out of their quarterback’s hands during the offseason will help him stay fresh later in the regular season.

Herbert is on board, but made it clear he does not require any maintenance.

“I’ve thrown a lot of footballs, and it’s May and June and I didn’t think it was as necessary to throw as much now,” Herbert said. “And do everything I can to get the footwork ready and get the offense down. The throws, they’ll be there. We’ve got plenty of time in camp and throughout [organized team activities] to get timing. I think it’s been smart by everyone, taking it easy.”

Herbert added that it’s better to focus on where his feet are now rather than in a live, meaningful game. However, Harbaugh and McDaniel said Herbert is ramping up his throwing in practice with training camp looming.

The Chargers expect big things out of McDaniel’s offense after they averaged a subpar 21.6 points per game in 2025.

Harbaugh and McDaniel are hopeful for career years from Quentin Johnston, Ladd McConkey and Tre’ Harris — exactly what the wideouts want to hear.

“As you all know … the timing, that’s a different aspect for us than we’re used to, but I think it’s great,” McConkey said. “It just gets the ball in the playmakers’ hands and lets us go to work.”

Before any dreams of the Chargers winning a Super Bowl on their home SoFi Stadium turf can come true next season, Herbert must simply get his footing, with his feet and new playbook.

“I’m sure you guys are eager to see him execute in a high regard in the stuff that we’re doing,” McDaniel said. “You got to be patient … that’s been part of the very calculated, very deliberate, intentional process that we take into the offseason.”