Rob Pelinka recently commented on the state of the Los Angeles Lakers. Does he think they are on a championship path?
It has not been an easy few years for the Los Angeles Lakers. With father time catching up to Kobe Bryant and his eventual retirement, the Lakers were not prepared for life after Bryant.
However, the new front office with Rob Pelinka and Magic Johnson came to Los Angeles with a vision for the team. Even though they didn’t inherit much, Johnson and Pelinka have done a nice job rather quickly to build a nice young core, and also to have cap space.
In the 2017-18 season, the Lakers once again missed the playoffs. However, it was arguably one of the most exciting teams that we have seen in recent years, as the young talent on the team certainly gave people a reason to watch.
Recently Rob Pelinka spoke with ESPN about how he feels things are going in Los Angeles. Here’s what he had to say with text via LakersNation.com.
"“I like to read great books. It’s just something I like to do when I’m on planes. You look at a story like “The Count of Monte Cristo,” and sometimes people say in that story revenge is a dish best served cold, so it takes time. You’ve got to show patience. You can’t just jump at the first shiny thing. We know we have to go to where the Lakers have been the last five years — not making the playoffs — to a playoff team. And then to a championship team. We’re on that path, and we’re going to get there.”"
Pelinka and the Lakers organization seem very confident and patient with what they are building. Since becoming the general manager, Pelinka has done a nice job improving the team without locking players into poor long-term deals like we saw with the previous regime.
Even though the Lakers have created a lot of cap space for this offseason, Pelinka and Johnson have already stated that they won’t just be throwing money around. Due to the development of their young core, the Lakers will likely take another step forward next season. However, the possible addition of two superstars to go along with the young core could truly propel them into one of the top teams in the Western Conference.
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For next season, the goal of the Lakers should absolutely be to make the playoffs. Since their young core hasn’t played in a playoff game yet, it will be important for them to gain experience in the playoffs. With Pelinka and Johnson running the show, it is good to see that they are both patient and level-headed when it comes to building the Lakers back up.