Getty Lakers GM Rob Pelinka
Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has two years left on the contract extension that accompanied his promotion to vice president of basketball operations last year, according to Bill Oram of The Athletic.
Pelinka has been under fire from Lakers fans after the team missed the playoffs this season.
“Sources have told The Athletic that Pelinka has two years left on the contract extension that accompanied his promotion to vice president of basketball operations last year,” Oram reported. “Would Jeanie [Buss] fire Pelinka, who she views as an extension of Kobe Bryant? Another disaster like last season, and she would almost have no choice. Pelinka didn’t have to tell us he would accept responsibility. He’s the only one left.”
Pelinka traded Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the Washington Wizards last summer for Russell Westbrook, who proved to be a bad fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis due to his inability to hit perimeter shots. The exec also let Alex Caruso, one of the best defenders in the NBA, sign with the Chicago Bulls.
Pelinka, who was Kobe Bryant’s agent, will be under pressure to fix the roster this summer and it sounds like he knows it.
Pelinka Takes Ownership of Mistakes
During his exit interview with the media, Pelinka took ownership of constructing a flawed team for this season. The Lakers went 33-49 and missed the play-in tournament.
“The roster decisions ultimately rest on my shoulders,” Pelinka said. “And I will take input from LeBron and Anthony as our two captains. I have done that during my entire tenure. But at the end of the day, I think I’m the one who leads the basketball operations department and will take ultimate accountability for the roster decisions that are made.”
Pelinka said the Lakers will continue to build around LeBron, who averaged 30.3 points this season. The King will turn 38 next campaign, his 20th in the NBA.
“LeBron James is a player that’s on the Mount Rushmore of basketball and every season of his 19 so far has to be looked at as a precious commodity,” Pelinka said. “And we need to do all we can to be caretakers of his legacy and to try to build the best team we can around him. And that’s something that we had the objective for that last year and obviously this roster did not work. But there’s a great level of trust in our collaboration with him to make sure we get it right this summer and fix it.
“We don’t know exactly how long LeBron will play but of course this year he played at the highest level. An incredible year for him offensively and he feels, in my exit meeting with him, highly motivated to return next year and have another elite, elite level of play. … For him to play at that level in the 19th year of his career is pretty jaw-dropping, and his motivation to come back and do that next year is palpable.”
Lakers owner Jeanie Buss probably wants Pelinka to be aggressive this offseason in reshaping the roster. However, she may not be in a rush to put him on the hot seat.
Pelinka Has Buss’ Full Support and Trust
Oram and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported in March that Pelinka still has Buss’ full support. Pelinka is close with Buss since he was Bryant’s agent.
“Take Pelinka, for example, the longtime agent for Bryant and close friend of Buss, who sources say still has her full support and trust,” Oram and Amick reported.
Pelinka said during his exit interview that he’s ready to get to work in the offseason to improve the Lakers, who won the championship in 2020 behind LeBron and Davis.
“I’m confident that, like we did in 2019 after a year of disappointment, we (will) put our heads together,” Pelinka said. “And I think we’ll spend the next several weeks and months doing an autopsy of what worked well and what didn’t work well this year and come out of that with a clear plan of how to get it right in July.”
All eyes in Los Angeles will be on Pelinka this summer to see what he does in free agency and who he trades.