Rob Pelinka Articles - Page 2

When Desmond Bane was traded, a popular sentiment across social media was to marvel at the return on a good-but-not-great player — especially in comparison to what stars have recently been going for. Four unprotected first-rounders and two productive role players in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Cole Anthony is a very nice haul. The key to […]

With only a few weeks left in the 2024-25 NBA season, communication between teams is reaching peak potential energy. One particular executive sources around the league say has been especially active: Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations, Rob Pelinka. His top priority has been clear ever since the Lakers were unceremoniously eliminated in the […]

The Los Angeles Lakers whirlwind of a 2024-25 campaign came to an end in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, as they suffered a 103-96 loss that eliminated them from the postseason. The Lakers enter the offseason believing they have their leader of the future, Luka Doncic, in place, but […]

Well, the Los Angeles Lakers’ season is now officially over. 50 wins, poof. JJ Redick’s well-earned goodwill, gone. Rob Pelinka’s victorious post-Luka Doncic trade tour has been postponed until further notice. LeBron James is once again pondering his future, now for the seventh time. The Minnesota Timberwolves unceremoniously squashed the season in five games, and […]

The Los Angeles Lakers got washed out of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games on Wednesday night. The Lakers’ lack of quality options at the center position was a clear problem throughout the series, so it’s no surprise president and general manager Rob Pelinka came out Thursday and said one of the […]

The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in desperation mode as their first-round NBA Playoffs series shifts back to Crypto.com Arena, and they’re a loss from elimination. They find themselves in this spot because Rob Pelinka, Jeanie Buss, and the rest of the organization’s leadership made the decision to ride out the string with LeBron James […]

For a couple hours before the game, Rob Pelinka patrolled the sidelines, shaking the hands of Los Angeles Lakers fans thanking him for the Luka Doncic trade, talking the members of the media, rubbing shoulders with agents and everything in between while his counterpart stood mostly hidden in the arena tunnels. He was in his […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a multi-year contract extension with executive Rob Pelinka, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. In addition to this extension to remain in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future, the Lakers’ Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager will now serve as the organization’s President of Basketball Operations. […]

One of the main proponents of the Los Angeles Lakers trading for Luka Doncic was general manager Rob Pelinka. However, as he was assessing the trade, he grew concern for Austin Reaves. The former Oklahoma guard has excelled with the ball in his hands. If they were to bring in Doncic, that would take the […]

The 2025-26 season will be LeBron James’ 23rd year in the NBA and his eighth with the Los Angeles Lakers, doubling his time with the Miami Heat and extending one season longer than his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now of course, a statement like this one assumes that LeBron, who turned 40 years […]

The Los Angeles Lakers appeared to pull off the heist of the century when they acquired superstar Luka Doncic earlier this month, but Doncic’s introduction to the famously star-studded Lakers was atypically subdued, and there was a reason for that. Doncic, who was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 2018, was blindsided by being traded, […]

For the foreseeable future, the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks will be linked together as a result of the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade. And by extension, Nico Harrison and Rob Pelinka, the respective general managers of the Mavericks and Lakers, will be linked as well. Since the trade earlier this month, Harrison has received […]

After the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Luka Doncic, sending away their elite big Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks, the point of emphasis for the team has been to find a center for the future. The Lakers were about to trade for Mark Williams of the Charlotte Hornets, but the trade was rescinded due […]

Mark Williams was always a gamble the Los Angeles Lakers were making in order to inject some much-needed talent at the center position to win now but also grow into a franchise cornerstone down the road. After looking at his medicals and finding issues even beyond the back and foot injuries that have forced him […]

It’s been over a week now since the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks came together to make the most shocking trade in NBA history, agreeing to a deal that sent Luka Doncic to LA and Anthony Davis to Dallas. You’d think that by now this deal would’ve been covered from every conceivable angle, but […]

The Los Angeles Lakers had the rug pulled out from underneath them when the Mark Williams trade was suddenly rescinded due to issues with the big man’s physical. That deal seemingly had fixed the Lakers’ problems on the interior after trading away Anthony Davis, but now they must keep looking for help in the middle. […]

The Los Angeles Lakers seemed to have found their center of the future when they traded a hefty package to the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams. The 23-year-old felt like the perfect long-term fit next to Luka Doncic as a roll man and lob threat, but that won’t be the case anymore. On Saturday night, […]

Roughly 24 hours before the NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers still have some work to do. Sources close to the team say that internally, there is a different sense of optimism about competing now, as well as the added runway trading for a 25-year-old Luka Doncic gives the team. The Lakers do still […]

The Los Angeles Lakers introduced Luka Doncic as their new franchise player on Tuesday at the UCLA Training Center in El Segundo. Before reporters had the chance to ask the point guard questions about the shocking trade that sent him from the Dallas Mavericks to the Purple and Gold, Rob Pelinka thanked Nico Harrison for […]

Luka Doncic and Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka made their championship aspirations clear during the team’s introductory press conference on Tuesday. With Doncic now positioned as the franchise’s next cornerstone, both he and Pelinka emphasized their ultimate goal — bringing another title to Los Angeles. When asked by a local reporter if he […]

It’s been over 48 hours since the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks came together to produce arguably the most stunning trade in NBA history — a deal that sent five-time All-NBA superstar Luka Doncic to Los Angeles, and NBA 75th Anniversary Team member Anthony Davis to Dallas — and it still doesn’t feel totally […]

Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka received praise from former Laker guard Josh Hart for what he described as “highway robbery” in the team’s blockbuster trade for Luka Doncic. Hart shared his thoughts on the deal after the New York Knicks’ 124-118 win over the Houston Rockets on Monday night. Hart, who finished the […]

If you were one of the countless NBA fans who thought that the Luka Doncic trade that went done late Saturday night/Sunday morning was a joke, you’re not alone. That’s exactly what Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka thought when Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison broached the subject with him. Brad Townsend of the […]

The Los Angeles Angels’ trade for superstar Luka Doncic with the Dallas Mavericks has officially gone through, and Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka has spoken for the first time on the trade for Doncic, as well as the departure of Anthony Davis along with Max Christie and Jalen Hood-Schifino. […]

Fans have been wondering for a few years now when the next big move for the Los Angeles Lakers would be. On Saturday night, general manager Rob Pelinka made it happen when he traded Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick in 2029 to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff […]

For the first time in his Los Angeles Lakers tenure, Anthony Davis is letting his voice be heard and publicly demanding something of his front office. Before Thursday’s beatdown of the Boston Celtics, Davis sat down with Shams Charania of ESPN for a one-on-one in which he called for Rob Pelinka to add a center […]

In the battle for Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Clippers secured a 116-102 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, with LeBron James recording a double-double in the loss. After the game, James openly shared his thoughts on the Lakers’ roster following the defeat. LeBron James subtle jab at Rob Pelinka “We don’t have a choice, […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly keeping their options open in the trade market after acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for D’Angelo Russell. According to Senior Lakers reporter Anthony Irwin, the Lakers explored the possibility of including Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe in the deal but were told it would require additional […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have been viewed as one of the teams who is expected to be very active on the trade market after a very up-and-down start to the season that has seen them go on extended winning streaks followed by long losing streaks. Even though Anthony Davis is playing like an MVP and […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are trying to compete and win right now as LeBron James’ career winds down and the Lakers play out the final days of the James-Anthony Davis pairing. This season, the Lakers have shown the capabilities of a contender at times, but inconsistent play has made them a frustrating evaluation. Overall, this […]

Before the season, Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said he hoped to get 30 games or so as a sample size before he made any major decisions about the roster. This would be in addition to the 88 games essentially this same roster played together last year. Now, with Jarred Vanderbilt not slated […]

One of the most pervasive, unrealistic clichés in NBA exec-speak nowadays is the notion of competing now with an eye toward the future. It’s thrown around a ton but no one seems all that interested in explaining how they’re actually going to go about executing a plan that seems antithetical to itself. In a league […]

With Christian Wood already out indefinitely as he recovers from knee surgery and now Jaxson Hayes expected to miss at least the next week or so with an ankle sprain, the Los Angeles Lakers must two rely on Christian Koloko to play backup minutes behind Anthony Davis. According to sources with knowledge of the Lakers’ […]

Earlier this week, league sources indicated that exercising Jalen Hood-Schifino’s third-year team option was nothing but a formality and that the Los Angeles Lakers would wait a year to make a decision on his fourth year. Now, just a couple days later, the Lakers are in fact declining that third-year option, resulting in Hood-Schifino’s last […]

According to Lakers Senior Reporter Anthony Irwin, league sources suggest there is an “unspoken agreement” between LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, where James has agreed to avoid publicly criticizing the organization. This understanding has evolved during his tenure with the team, fostering a more harmonious relationship despite occasional challenges since he first joined […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are heading into this season like a ship sailing into a dark, thick fog with upbeat music blaring to keep the vibes up. Everyone is saying all the right things, but there are some incredibly crucial questions facing the organization, and the answers to them will directly impact the outcome of […]

Whether the Los Angeles Lakers are in ‘win-now’ mode or not is subject to debate, but regardless of how things are going early in the upcoming NBA season, it appears Rob Pelinka will stand pat. After an offseason in which the team did not make many moves, but reportedly not for a lack of trying, […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have too many guards. If it seems like they always have too many guards, it’s because they almost always do. According to various reports and league sources, Rob Pelinka tried to address this issue over the summer, but ran into a few roadblocks and now, once again, the roster is undersized […]

This offseason has mostly been one of inactivity for the Los Angeles Lakers. Instead of pushing all their chips to the center of the table with the goal of building the best team they can around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they have stood pat. With training camp less than a week away, the Lakers […]