The general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, Rob Pelinka, is now officially on the ‘hot seat according to top NBA insiders speaking on The Hoop Collective podcast.
Pelinka has been in charge of the Lakers since 2017 and has overseen some major franchise success. However, in what might be considered the most important offseason in recent memory for the team, questions about Pelinka doing a good enough job to build a new roster around Luka Doncic have led to him having an uncertain future in his role.
The Lakers made an effort to build around Doncic, but after handing out several long-term contracts seen as ‘desperation-type’ moves, Pelinka could be looking at the end of his tenure on the franchise sooner than many expected.
Rob Pelinka On The Hot Seat After ‘Desperation’ Offseason Moves
Though Pelinka played a huge role in the Lakers landing LeBron James, trading for Anthony Davis, winning the 2020 NBA Finals, and then trading for Doncic, the franchise’s top executive was officially put on the hot seat by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Tim McMahon, and Anthony Slater on a recent episode of The Hoop Collective podcast.
“You know who feels more on the clock than anybody in Laker land right now to me is Pelinka,” Slater said. “You know, obviously, you have the ownership situation that continues to shift and evolve, so you just wonder, you know, who new ownership will want, you know, long-term lead in the team. But also, he threw out a bunch of what would seem like desperation-type contracts this summer.”
From the outside, it’s difficult to tell how the new ownership group feels about Pelinka’s job security going forward. This season will tell a lot, but based on some of the decisions he made this summer and how that impacts the future of the roster around Doncic, many see this as a disappointing offseason for the Lakers, in what was expected to be one that saw blockbuster changes for the better.
Specifically, as it relates to the contracts the Lakers gave out in free agency, Pelinka could have signed some of these names to smaller deals. Instead, the franchise is left with several long-term contracts and player options that could significantly hinder roster changes going forward if this group doesn’t pan out as planned.
“All the role players on their whole roster, okay, if they all had one year less on their contracts, you would look at them completely differently. I know that’s a big if, but, like, if Jarred Vanderbilt didn’t have the player option and he was just an expiring $12 million contract, that’s something you could do something with,” Windhost said. “If Collin Sexton just had the one-year, $9 million deal, he’s hugely incentivized to play well this year. And Vanderbilt and Sexton together are $21 million. You know, if Grimes is on a three-year deal instead of four, if Mamu is on a three-year deal instead of four.”
Pelinka has brought success to the Lakers in the past, but in the most important offseason in recent team memory, it looks like he underperformed. The general manager likely has time to prove this roster has the chance to succeed, but if not, it’s Pelinka who could be first out the door if this group doesn’t live up to expectations.
Lakers Offseason Roster Changes This Summer
Despite Pelinka previously making it clear that the Lakers were using this past NBA offseason to build around Doncic, questions remain about whether the team actually did that in free agency and through trades.
According to NBA.com, here are all the offseason roster changes made by the Lakers, including the players they kept, signed, and lost this summer:
Re-signings: Austin Reaves (four-year deal)
Additions: Quentin Grimes (four-year deal), Jaden Hardy, Walker Kessler (four-year deal), Kevon Looney (one-year deal), Sandro Mamukelashvili (four-year deal), Collin Sexton (two-year deal), Matisse Thybulle (one-year deal), and Ziaire Williams (one-year deal)
Departures: Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, LeBron James, Luke Kennard, and Marcus Smart
Losing nearly half the roster is one thing, but bringing in at least eight new players, nearly all on multi-year contracts, is another. The Lakers gave out a total of $261 million in free agency this summer, and outside of the Kessler sign-and-trade, none of those names were the big targets Los Angeles was expected to land.
They missed out on Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Duren, Peyton Watson, Jonathan Kuminga, Klay Thompson, and an even longer list of free agents and trade targets heavily linked to a Los Angeles move at one point or another.
Instead, the Lakers spent a ton of money on middling talent that they’re not locked down to over the next several years.
Though not all the blame can go on Pelinka for Los Angeles missing out on its top targets, by all accounts, he’s the one who will pay if this experiment doesn’t work out. The Lakers are on a ticking clock with Doncic as the franchise star, and heading into his first full season as the team’s main priority, the early returns on these roster changes aren’t very positive.
As mentioned, Pelinka has a strong history of building title-contending Lakers teams, but questions remain about this group more than in years past.
If it quickly shows this group doesn’t have what it takes to win multiple rounds in the playoffs, Pelinka’s job security will be in greater focus than ever before. It’s fair to say his seat is getting warmer, but it could quickly become boiling after failing to capitalize on the biggest summer in which the Lakers were expected to turn into one of the most dangerous teams in the NBA.
Lakers GM Rob Pelinka Put On Hot Seat After ‘Desperation’ $261M Offseason