Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder live stream: Watch NBA live on TV, preview, start time

The Los Angeles Lakers (19-39) will begin the Magic Johnson era in a road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder (32-25) at the Chesapeake Arena on Friday evening. Johnson, named president of Basketball Operations Tuesday, is travelling with the team in an effort to aid the development of the Lakers' promising young core.

The Lakers enter the second half of the season without Lou Williams and Marcelo Huertas, who were traded for veteran swingman Corey Brewer, a 2017 first-round draft pick and fourth-year point guard Tyler Ennis ahead of Thursday's NBA Trade Deadline. Williams, who led the Lakers in scoring with 18.6 points per game, was traded to create more playing time and shot attempts for D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac and Julius Randle. Nick Young, the other veteran scorer in the team, is also expected to play second-fiddle to Clarkson, who is now the team's Sixth Man following Williams' departure.

Luke Walton was a busy man during the All-Star break as Johnson and the new front office sought the coach's opinion before trades. “There were general discussions about all that type of stuff. A lot of stuff you have to put in tons and tons of hours and times to figure it out. They discussed what their vision was. I expressed where I thought we were headed," said Walton, via The Orange County Register. Walton has stressed the importance of featuring the younger players for the remainder of the season.

OKC add Gibson, McDermott to roster, Lakers to focus on youth

The Thunder, too, made a significant trade on Thursday. They sent second-year point guard Cameron Payne, veteran sharpshooter Anthony Morrow and forward Joffrey Lauvergne to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round draft pick. The Thunder are expected to roll with a starting frontcourt of Steven Adams and Gibson. The seventh-seeded Thunder, currently just three games behind the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers, would need to win a good portion of their remaining 25 games to seal home court advantage during the playoffs. Fortunately for Russell Westbrook & Co., only seven of the Thunder's remaining opponents have winning records. "We want to try and create some rhythm, some momentum going toward the right direction," the MVP candidate was quoted as saying, via ESPN.

Meanwhile, Thunder general manager Sam Presti expects the newly acquired duo of Gibson and McDermott to make an instant impact. "Russell (Westbrook) can help both of these guys, and both of them complement him. I think we're a better team this evening than we were this morning," said Presti, before lavishing praise on Gibson, who is averaging 11.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. "He's (Gibson) an excellent pick and roll defender and one of the most respected competitors in the league."

Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder live stream: How to watch

Start time: 8:00 p.m. (ET), 5:00 p.m. (PT), 11:00 AM on Saturday (AEST), 12:00 PM (AEDT)
On TV: Spectrum Sports Net, Fox Sports Oklahoma (USA)
Live Stream: NBA League Pass (Global)