Rob Pelinka, Lakers GM for all seven seasons of the LeBron James era in Los Angeles, has quietly obtained more power for the league’s most popular franchise despite having a shaky (at best) resume.
So, while the majority of NBA media focuses on James’ place within the organization following his latest cryptic message, we’re going to ask the most important question: Is Pelinka good at his job?
Here’s a recap of Pelinka’s roller-coaster performance as the shot-caller in L.A.:
The ‘backstabbing’
Pelinka was named co-GM with Magic Johnson before the 2018-19 season. Magic persuaded LeBron to join the Lakers that offseason, but Pelinka and Johnson stupidly prioritized “tough-minded playmakers” over shooters in filling out the roster. That season effectively ended when James suffered a torn groin on Christmas Day. The only trade the Pelinka-Johnson duo made that season was indefensible (promising young center Ivica Zubac and Michael Beasley to the Clippers for Mika Muscala).
At the end of the season, Johnson unexpectedly resigned and later accused Pelinka of “backstabbing” during an interview on ESPN’s First Take. Amid the chaos, Pelinka ascended.
The championship and honeymoon phase
Pelinka crushed it in the 2019-20 offseason, hiring Frank Vogel as head coach, trading for New Orleans’ Anthony Davis (with the help of James and his representative, Rich Paul) and signing or re-signing key players Danny Green, Rajon Rondo, Alex Caruso, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Dwight Howard. The brilliant offseason yielded a legendary championship season in which the team went 57-0 when leading after three quarters and was never really challenged as it cruised to a championship.
In January 2020, Pelinka added vice president of basketball operations to his title and received a contract extension.
The next offseason, Pelinka tinkered with the roster, trading Green and the draft pick that became Jaden McDaniels for Oklahoma City’s Dennis Schroder (yikes!) and swapping out Howard and JaVale McGee for Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell. The Green trade didn’t work out, but the other moves turned out decently.
However, the Lakers got screwed when the NBA started its 2020-21 season in December after finishing the bubble tournament in October. Los Angeles dealt with injuries to Davis and James all season, including a season-ending injury for Davis in the playoffs that prematurely ended the team’s title defense.
The Westbrook debacle
The Lakers’ 2021-22 offseason was arguably the worst offseason in NBA history.
First, the Lakers traded Kyle Kuzma, Caldwell-Pope, Harrell and a first- round pick to the Wizards for Russell Westbrook. Westbrook was an awful fit, plaguing the Lakers for the next season and a half.
If that weren’t bad enough, Pelinka made things even worse by:
- Letting Caruso, one of the best defenders and role players in the NBA, leave in free agency.
- Signing Kendrick Nunn to the mid-level exception — he should have been called Kendrick “None,” because that’s how many games the injury-plagued guard played that season.
- Signing DeAndre Jordan to be his starting center — he was so washed up that he got waived in March.
- Signing Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington, Kent Bazemore, Carmelo Anthony, Rondo and Howard — all six were out of the NBA by the next season.
The Lakers finished 33-49 and missed the playoffs. Pelinka should have been fired, if not banished from the state of California, but he somehow avoided full blame, fired Vogel and hired Darvin Ham as head coach.
Job preservation mode activated
Since the Westbrook trade, Pelinka has refused to go all-In on a roster because that would put his job on the line. Before the 2022-23 season, he infamously wouldn’t deal Westbrook and 2027 and 2029 first-round picks for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield. Instead, he let Westbrook’s presence further infect the team, leading to a 2-10 start.
At the deadline, he finally dealt Westbrook and draft capital to Utah for Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley and D’Angelo Russell (chosen by Pelinka over Mike Conley). He also acquired Rui Hachimura in a separate deal with Washington.
The team subsequently flourished, making the Western Conference Finals before falling to the eventual champions, the Denver Nuggets. Hachimura was a great addition and Russell had moments, but he got played off the court in the Denver series, leaving many wondering whether Conley might have been the better fit. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt was OK and Beasley stunk.
Once again at the helm of a contender, Pelinka was conservative and emphasized continuity in the 2023-24 offseason. His big move was wasting another mid-level exception on a guard, Gabe Vincent, who almost immediately got injured. Kyrie Irving, who LeBron had publicly pushed for the previous trade deadline, was available. However, Pelinka, who was more interested in self-preservation, took the safer route and made no deals at the deadline..
Then the Lakers again fell to the Nuggets 4-1 in the playoffs — this time despite leading for the overwhelming majority of the minutes.
Pelinka, of course, felt his seat getting hot and fired Ham.
A gift from an old friend
After LeBron found him a good head coach — his podcasting partner, JJ Redick — Pelinka pledged to be aggressive in improving the roster ahead of the 2024-25 season. But he did nothing until Redick forced his hand by benching Russell, a defensive sieve and malcontent. Then Pelinka dealt him and Maxwell Lewis to Brooklyn for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. Afterward, the Lakers flourished.
Then, for the third time, a generational talent dropped into Pelinka’s lap. Mavericks GM Nico Harrison, a Pelinka friend, approached Pelinka with an insane offer: Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick. Weeks later, the most shocking deal in NBA history broke the internet.
Suddenly, the Lakers were contenders, but they had a Davis-sized hole at center. Then Pelinka curiously dealt for Charlotte’s Mark Williams, a gifted but raw and often-injured big man, only to rescind the deal after the deadline because Williams failed a physical. Rescinding was the right move, but why was Williams the target? Why not also acquire a veteran big on the cheap, such as Atlanta’s Clint Capela)?
Without a center who could play in the postseason, the Lakers got upset in the first round by the Timberwolves.
Before selling the majority stake in the franchise, Lakers governor Jeanie Buss rewarded Pelinka with yet another contract extension and named him president of basketball operations. (It pays to keep your mouth shut when your friend offers you Doncic on a platter!)
Since then, Pelinka has turned Finney-Smith and Jordan Goodwin into Jake LaRavia, Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart. It’s not the 2019-20 offseason, but it’s certainly better than the past four summers.
The assessment
Pelinka snaked his way into power. He was great for two seasons, horrific for two seasons and risk averse for two seasons. He has been extremely lucky that three Hall of Fame talents (James, Davis and Doncic) dropped out of the sky during his reign.
Pelinka will never be on the level of top executives such as Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti or Boston’s Brad Stevens, both of whom are more adept at roster construction, player evaluation, salary-cap creativity and risk management.
But Pelinka is clearly good at things most people don’t see, especially nurturing relationships with players, coaches, owners and other executives.
On balance, though, he’s an average GM. Of course, when you have a generational superstar in his prime, average is sometimes all you need to win a championship.
