Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka made the satisfaction of his star players his biggest priority upon acquiring Anthony Davis in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans and being left with a hollowed-out roster left to fill.
Davis admits Pelinka was in touch, perhaps a little too in touch, comparing him to a stalking girlfriend inquiring about which players he and LeBron James would like to play with:
“We were doing constant calls about, ‘What do you think of this or this player?” Davis told ESPN's Dave McMenamin. “Rob was almost like a stalking girlfriend. He was an agent, so he's played both sides. He knows that in order for stuff to work the players have to be involved. And he tried to make sure that LeBron and I were involved as much as possible. During free agency, every decision I got a text or a call, even just two minutes, ‘Look, this is going on. … How do you feel? OK, cool.'
“Every single decision. I [have] never been involved so much. No matter who the player was, he wanted to make sure. It was on everything. And it was like, ‘Wow.' To the point where I was like, ‘All right, Rob, stop calling me.'”
This was a stark change for Anthony Davis, who despite being the franchise player in New Orleans, never was this close to the wheel when it came to personnel decisions. In fairness, there wasn't this level of power when it came to player acquisition with the Pelicans, a power the Lakers market does possess, especially when the team boasts a palpable chance to win a title with this superstar tandem.
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