The Los Angeles Lakers announced they have extended their agreement with Rob Pelinka, naming him President of Basketball Operations and General Manager.
“For eight seasons, I have relied on Rob’s vision and leadership to do what’s best for the Lakers organization,” said Lakers Governor Jeanie Buss. “I value his partnership and professionalism and believe in his ability to deliver championship-caliber basketball for Los Angeles and Lakers fans everywhere.”
Pelinka joined the Lakers in 2017 as General Manager and was named Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager in 2020. This contract extension appears to include a promotion from Vice President to President.
While Pelinka has certainly made his mistakes in the past, it is hard to argue this extension isn’t well-deserved considering what he has done in the last year.
After parting ways with head coach Darvin Ham, Pelinka hired JJ Redick as his replacement and that immediately changed the culture in the Lakers organization. Pelinka took a risk by bringing in another first-year coach, but so far it has proven to be a great decision.
Then as far as roster moves, Pelinka made his first savvy trade in December when he flipped D’Angelo Russell and second-round draft capital for Dorian Finney-Smith.
The big trade, of course, came ahead of the deadline when Pelinka and the Lakers acquired Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks. While some may argue that Doncic fell into the Lakers’ laps, Pelinka negotiated a deal that didn’t include Austin Reaves, Dalton Knecht or the Lakers’ 2031 first round pick. He also negotiated the deal in silence, which was key to getting it done.
Now, Pelinka can run the Lakers without having to worry about his long-term future with the organization. With Doncic, Reaves and others under contract, he could go out and build a roster that encompasses his and Redick’s vision for the team. Right now though, the focus for Pelinka will be helping the Lakers win the second championship under his watch.
JJ Redick: Lakers will rely on Luka Doncic to prepare for Timberwolves series
Luka Doncic is the most familiar with this Timberwolves team out of everyone on the Lakers roster as he went up against them in the Western Conference Finals last year where the Dallas Mavericks defeated them in five games.
With that being the case, Lakers head coach JJ Redick naturally will rely on Doncic as he and his staff prepare for this series.
“In my playing career that happened a lot. There’s regular season and there’s playoffs and often times it’s not completely different things but there are nuances to what teams are trying to do against certain opponents. Greg [St. Jean] was on Phoenix last year and got swept by Minnesota –sorry, Greg. Just stating a fact– so he’s got a good level of experience as well. It was literally the thing he said to me as soon as the game was over, so we have a lot of work to do and they’re a really good basketball team.”
