The Los Angeles Lakers ended up making several wholesale changes to the roster this offseason. That includes adding three new starters to the team. LeBron James is gone after eight seasons with the organization. Now, Luka Doncic is the undisputed leader of the franchise.
Rob Pelinka decided to trade for Walker Kessler. In addition to trading multiple first-round picks for him, he also decided to pay Kessler $130 million over four years. It’s a bet that Kessler will be able to anchor a defense that has struggled on the interior for the last few years. It’s a move that could get him fired.
Rob Pelinka Predicted to be Fired From Lakers if the Team Has a Poor Start
In a prediction from Jason Jones of The Athletic, he believes Pelinka could be in trouble if the Lakers have a poor start. He believes Pelinka could be the one to blame, and he wouldn’t be shocked to see him get axed.
Fans will question the decision not to bring back role players such as Rui Hachimura, Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart, but some bumps are to be expected with so much roster turnover. Many of Rob Pelinka’s moves have been criticized since 2020, and with another ownership change, who knows how patient they will be with him if things do not work out?” Jones writes.
Kessler is the player who faces the most scrutiny early on. If he gets hurt again, Pelinka could start feeling the pressure. Kessler has struggled to stay on the court, playing only 63 games in the last two seasons. He also has not played on a competitive team in his career to this point, which is another concern.
JJ Redick has yet to define the starting lineup. Only Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Kessler are guaranteed to start this year. The other two players could be swapped in and out throughout the year. It will be up to him to fit all of these pieces together.
New Ownership Could be a Problem for Rob Pelinka
Bob Iger and Josh Kushner decided to buy the team from Mark Walter in the offseason. This will be the third different ownership group that Pelinka has worked under in the last two seasons. However, Jeanie Buss is no longer involved with the organization. Buss has been Pelinka’s champion, so that shield is gone for him.
The biggest problem for Pelinka is that the Lakers don’t have room to make improvements at the deadline. They are pretty close to being capped out, and they don’t have many future assets to trade. It’s very likely that the roster that starts out the season is the one that will finish it, as well.
Pelinka has the Doncic trade on his resume, but that only gets him so much grace. A poor start could see the new ownership decide to get their own guy in there to run the team. Of course, Doncic is going to try to make sure that doesn’t happen by playing well right out of the gate.
Lakers’ Rob Pelinka Gets Harrowing Prediction about his Future