Lakers news: Rob Pelinka explains how experience as an agent is helping him as a GM

Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka used to be an agent, and he talked about how his old job is helping him in his new one.

Despite only being at the helm for less than two years, Rob Pelinka has already achieved a lot during his brief tenure as Los Angeles Lakers general manager. According to the 48-year-old former agent, the immeasurable experience he gained from his previous job has been a huge help in his current position as the GM of one of the most storied franchises in the NBA.

Pelinka, whose most notable client as a sports agent was none other than Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, recently guested on “The Official Lakers Podcast” and explained how these two aspects of the sport are inseparably intertwined.

“I think in addition to Kobe, just working as a player representative for all those years, it kind of let me into the mindset of what the players want from the franchises they’re playing for,” he said, via Anthony Irwin of Silver Screen & Roll. “What are the important things? Because I would hear all the complaints, like ‘Hey this team needs to do this better or that better.’ And I would witness the strengths because strengths aren’t complained about.”

Having a first-hand experience of what's important to his former clients definitely gives Pelinka an edge, especially in terms of recruiting new players. He went on to explain how this helped mold the vision the Lakers have today.

“So I think what Magic and I have done is taken that resource pool of information and used it to kind of shape how we want the Lakers to look, and at the center of that is that this is a very player-centric franchise,” added Pelinka. Jeanie Buss, as you know, has one of the biggest hearts in the world and is also brilliant, and wanted to kind of bring this welcome, hospitality, family feel here. I think that, plus the experiences I had as a player representative has led to building this now, where we’re getting the feeling that players like LeBron and others see this as the place they want to be.”

By signing LeBron James this summer, the Lakers recorded one of the biggest coups in recent years. There is no doubt that Pelinka played a vital role in securing the signature of one of the best players the league has ever seen.