Los Angeles Lakers: ESPN story shines light on Magic Johnson, team dysfunction

One misinformed story gets Rob Pelinka back in the news, again

Rob Pelinka has been scorched and raked over the coals over his experience, his relationship with NBA executives and of course Magic Johnson. But the one thing that gets stuck with Pelinka is his “creditabilty”. The only positive that Rob Pelinka has going for him right now is Kobe Bryant.

Now even Kobe Bryant is getting sick!

The ESPN article talks about a story Rob Pelinka told when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson visited the Staples Center.

"“There was one time when Kobe, who I worked with for 18 years, was going back to play in Madison Square Garden, and he had just seen ‘The Dark Knight,'” Pelinka said. “Obviously, you guys saw that movie, and he’s like, ‘Hey, hook me up with dinner with Heath Ledger, because he got so locked into that role. I want to know how he mentally went there.’ So, he had dinner with Heath, and he talked about how he locks in for a role. “And Kobe used some of that in his game against the Knicks.” “The Dark Knight” was released in July 2008, six months after Ledger died. A source with direct knowledge said no such arrangement was made and no dinner ever took place."

Let’s forget the Freudian slip here. Let’s talks optics. Lakers fans have flooded the comments section with potential free agency ideas and trades. I shoot all of them down. I realize that it could be frustrating. To those people I have frustrated, I say the same thing; do you really trust this guy to negotiate a big deal?

Trust me Lakers fans, the NBA executives don’t. He blew the coaching search. He did not show any leadership speaking out at least to say the Lakers have a plan and will move forward. He could have been lying but it wouldn’t have been as big as the one you just read.

With Jeanie Buss still not speaking, this will be a fluid situation. Lake Show Life will be on top of it and provide updates throughout the summer.