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The Los Angeles Lakers have made a final decision on vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka’s future.
According to an October 8th report from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Pelinka has agreed to a multiyear contract extension with the Lakers, who missed the playoffs last season. The new contract structure goes through 2026.
“The Lakers’ ownership group, led by Jeanie Buss, believes deeply in management and the coach being in alignment on one vision,” Haynes reported. “Pelinka’s contract is now set to expire at the same time as first-year head coach Darvin Ham, who signed a four-year deal.”
Pelinka has been with the Lakers since 2017 as general manager. He was promoted to vice president of basketball operations in 2020. In his first full season as GM, Pelinka signed LeBron James in unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2018. The following offseason, he traded for Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Lakers won the 2020 championship over the Miami Heat in six games at the Walt Disney World bubble. They were projected to compete for more championships with James and Davis leading the way. However, Los Angeles lost in the first round of the 2021 playoffs to the Phoenix Suns and failed to qualify for the play-in tournament in 2022.
Pelinka made several moves this summer. He hired Darvin Ham as head coach, traded for Patrick Beverley and signed Troy Brown Jr., Thomas Bryant, Damian Jones, Dennis Schroder, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Lonnie Walker IV.
Pelinka: I Will Trade Picks to Improve the Team
Pelinka told reporters during media day that he will do everything in his power to make the roster better around James, one of the greatest players in NBA history. LeBron signed a two-year extension with Los Angeles in August.
“Let me be abundantly clear: We have one of the great players in LeBron James to ever play the game and he committed to us on a long-term contract, a three-year contract,” Pelinka said. “So of course, we will do everything we can, picks included, to make deals to give us a chance to help LeBron get to the end. He committed to our organization. That’s got to be a bilateral commitment and it’s there.”
According to an October 3rd report from Sam Amick, Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers seriously considered trading Russell Westbrook and unprotected first-round picks in 2027 and 2029 to the Indiana Pacers for center Myles Turner and shooting guard Buddy Hield before the start of training camp. While Westbrook wasn’t traded in the summer like so many across the league expected, the prospect of the one-time MVP being moved in the coming weeks and months remains real.
LeBron Remains Supportive of the Current Regime
Amick, Charania and Buha reported that James remains supportive of the current regime in Los Angeles. The four-time MVP and four-time Finals MVP applied no pressure to the front office to trade Westbrook to the Pacers for Turner and Hield.
James signed a two-year, $97.1 million extension with the Lakers. The extension has a 15% trade kicker and made James the highest-earning player in NBA history with $532 million in guaranteed money. LBJ’s new deal includes a player option for the 2024-25 season.
“LeBron is a generational basketball player who has proven to be even more impactful as a human being,” Pelinka said about James’ extension, via Lakers.com. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with him, ensuring he’s a driving force of Lakers culture for years to come. The Lakers platform has proved again and again to be an ideal place for the game’s all-time greats to thrive and achieve. We are thankful LeBron has experienced the power of that. With his transcendent talent, unrivaled passion and dedication to causing powerful change in our society, LeBron continues to cement his legacy in Los Angeles and around the globe.”
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