Rebuilding Lakers play first of 2 preseason games in Las Vegas

It’s been almost exactly six months since Kobe Bryant played for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Which means for the first time in 20 years, one of the NBA’s most storied franchises is searching for a new identity.

“We’re trying to start this new era,” Lakers third-year forward Tarik Black said. “Bringing it back to dominance. It’s bigger than just Kobe retiring.

“It’s also the Lakers … Getting back to dominance as an organization, in only six months, we’ve been doing it.”

The new-look Lakers will take the floor at 7:30 p.m. Thursday against the Sacramento Kings in the first of two preseason games at T-Mobile Arena. They’ll also play the defending Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

After three dismal seasons, Los Angeles fired coach Byron Scott and hired former Lakers forward Luke Walton away from Golden State, where he helped the Warriors win an NBA championship as an assistant coach and interim head coach.

Black said Walton has already started to change the culture on and off the court, and that his style of play is more conducive to a young, athletic roster that features second-year guard De’Angelo Russell, No. 2 overall pick Brandon Ingram and third-year forward Julius Randle.

“He’s very poised, down to earth and patient. And that’s huge when you have a young team,” Black said. “You don’t want guys to panic, you don’t want guys to play frantically and you don’t want to burden us too much. You want to actually develop and get better.”

Stylistically speaking, Black said it’s no secret what the Lakers want to do. Like the rest of the NBA, they want to run, shoot, slash and score, sort of like those Warriors.

“We got the coach that started off in Golden State. Plus, the whole NBA is getting there,” Black said. “Our coach stems from that. It’s no surprise in how we’ll play, and with the talent we have, it’s actually going to be pretty amazing for us.”

Under Scott, the Lakers played an archaic style of basketball that emphasized long 2-pointers and didn’t take advantage of the 3-point line.

Last season, Los Angeles ranked 29th in offensive efficiency ahead of only the Philadelphia 76ers, according to ESPN.com.

But the Lakers have the athletes and versatility to play with pace and space. Russell is a maestro with the ball and scored 33 points against Denver on Sunday.

Ingram is long and a skilled 3-point shooter, and Randle is a beefy forward with deceptive athleticism, capable of beating a defender off the dribble or battering him all the way to the basket.

Sprinkle in other young players such as Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. and Black, along with veterans Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov, and Black said the Lakers have the formula to kick-start the turnaround.

“We have guys that are versatile, who can play and who are very skilled. And we’re super athletic,” he said. “That’s a dynamic that we’ll add to that system — the athleticism that we have — guys who can play, guys who can run up and down the court.”

But Black was careful to emphasize one thing — it’s going to take time. Most of the core players are 25 or younger, and Black said it’s not going to be an overnight rebuild.

“We’re putting the pieces back together, doing it with patience,” he said. “The success is going to be worth it.”

Sam Gordon can be reached at sgordon@review journal.com