The Los Angeles Lakers awarded Rob Pelinka a contract extension on Saturday. The general manager's deal now runs through the 2025-26 season — putting him on the same contractual timeline as their recently hired head coach, Darvin Ham.
Yahoo's Chris Haynes first reported the news, which represents a major vote of confidence for the occasionally embattled general manager and vice president of basketball operations — especially coming off a 33-49 season that was preceded by the controversial Russell Westbrook trade, and a flurry of misguided free agency moves.
Per The Athletic, the extension was agreed to prior to Ham's hire in the spring.
Pelinka, however, oversaw LeBron James' signing in 2018, the Anthony Davis blockbuster in 2019, and constructed a team that delivered a championship in 2020. He also hired Frank Vogel, and now Ham. Under his stewardship, the Lakers have built one of the more respected scouting departments in the NBA, noted for its success in the draft and the G League. He inked LeBron to a two-year extension in August.
Jeanie Buss famously likes to run the Lakers like a mom-and-pop business, preferring o surround herself — informally and formally — with members of the “family”, such as Magic Johnson, Kurt and Linda Rambis, and Phil Jackson, among others. Pelinka, who was hired in 2017 as co-GMs alongside Magic, has long been a part of the Lakers' inner circle from his many years as Kobe Bryant's agent and close personal friend. He was promoted to VP of basketball ops in 2020.
“The Lakers’ ownership group, led by Jeanie Buss, believes deeply in management and the coach being in alignment on one vision,” wrote Haynes.
This summer, Pelinka focused on a youth movement, signing a handful of players under 30 and drafting 19-year-old Max Christie with the 35th pick. In recent weeks, he swapped Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson for Patrick Beverley and brought back Dennis Schroder.
https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1578868322438766592
The pressure is now on Pelinka to maximize the rest of LeBron's tenure in Los Angeles, possibly execute a Westbrook deal, and figure out how to best utilize the team's two tradable first-round picks (2027, 2029).
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