At present, many are predicting a bleak future for the future. The Los Angeles Lakers this coming season as LeBron James“James’ career is starting to fizzle out. The feeling is that they are wasting James’ final seasons, a process that began three years ago when they traded Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pape, Montrezl Harrell and a first-round pick for Russell Westbrook.
General manager Rob Pelinka has long been criticized for making the trade, and it’s a deal that continues to have negative consequences to this day.
The Lakers haven’t made any real moves this offseason, in part because that trade depleted their pool of tradable assets. As such, ESPN named Pelinka as someone with a lot to prove (h/t Lakers Daily).
Via ESPN:
“After one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history in 2021-22, Pelinka signed an extension through 2025-26 — receiving a major vote of confidence from team governor Jeanie Buss,” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin wrote. “Since then, the Lakers have made a trip to the Western Conference Finals, but followed that up with a first-round elimination and [Darvin] Ham’s dismissal.
“The only way the next two years will be considered a success for the franchise is if it can compete in [LeBron] James’ twilight years while simultaneously getting [J.J.] Redick’s career took off and marked the beginning of a new era for the team. Simple, right?
The hiring of Redick, who has never been an assistant coach at the professional or college level, is another factor that has led people to criticize Pelinka. Some believe Redick will be too chummy with James, the man with whom he co-hosted the “Mind the Game” podcast, while others even think the franchise was too quick to fire Ham a few months ago.
As is always the case with any team led by James, the management is under immense pressure. The modus operandi of such teams is that the head coach and management receive the lion’s share of the blame or are even fired when expectations are not met.
It seems hard to imagine Pelinka being fired anytime soon, however, because Governor Jeanie Buss appears to have so much faith in him.
This article was originally published on LeBron Wire: ESPN: Lakers GM Rob Pelinka has a lot to prove
