Why the Lakers playing so many road games this preseason, explained

Road trips during the preseason are rare and often only involve quick flights to face nearby teams. There’s also the occasional venture to foreign countries, as the Celtics and Nuggets did by traveling to the United Arab Emirates.

But a venture across the country in a true road game? That’s rare, to say the least. When the Lakers embarked on an adventure to Milwaukee last week, LeBron James shared his lack of excitement for the cross-country flight.

LeBron wasn’t alone, either. During practice ahead of the trip to Milwaukee, head coach JJ Redick called the situation not “ideal” for the Lakers.

The irony of the situation is that preseason schedules are handled in-house, which means the Lakers themselves were responsible for the trip to Milwaukee. The explanation for that specific trip was that the two teams had agreed to a home-and-home deal of sorts with the Bucks coming to Los Angeles last year and the Lakers returning the favor this year.

But that’s one of a number of road trips the Lakers will have this preseason. They opened the year with a pair of games in the same weekend in Palm Springs. After the trip to Milwaukee, the Lakers will go to Las Vegas on Tuesday to play the Warriors before road games on back-to-back nights in Phoenix and San Francisco to wrap up the slate of exhibition games.

So, there won’t be a single home game this preseason, which begs the simple question of why?

The answer is an easy one: Crypto.com Arena is under construction. When the naming rights for the stadium were sold, it came with an agreement of big renovations being made to the arena. Those renovations are underway and the Lakers are out of the arena as a result.

The renovations began during the summer when the Sparks were in Crypto.com Arena and carried to the beginning of the Lakers season.

It also explains the early-season schedule as well. After three home games in the first week, the Lakers go on a five-game road trip lasting 10 days. When they return home, six of their next eight games are at Crypto.com Arena to counter that.

Construction never comes at a convenient time and it forced the Lakers out of the arena this preseason, but if the greatest inconvenience is a couple extra road trips in the meaningless portion of the schedule, then I think the Lakers will be just fine.