3. Completing the Roster
With the money they still had available under the salary cap, the Lakers decided to go all-in and attempt to sign Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. But by the time Leonard opted to join the Clippers instead, virtually all the other stars and most of the best role players had also already signed elsewhere.
Many fans expected that a failure to sign Leonard would mean Pelinka would be stuck filling out the roster with only end-of-the-bench players. But Rob was well-prepared for that eventuality with a Plan B, which he immediately executed.
Since Davis prefers playing power forward to center, and because the Lakers don’t really want him banging around inside too often with big bruisers, Pelinka signed two quality centers. The first was JaVale McGee, who had an unexpectedly strong season for the Lakers in 2018-19.
The second center, DeMarcus Cousins, could end up being even more beneficial. Cousins is a former all-star who tore his Achilles in January 2018. He played the second half of this past season for the Warriors, and was reasonably effective, averaging 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds, but showed only occasional flashes of his old self.
If he can recover completely or even nearly so this season, which still remains a big IF, he could be yet another Laker star. At the very least, he should be a solid contributor as he is reunited with Davis, with whom he formed a dynamic duo in New Orleans right before his injury.
Fans will recall that a year ago, “Maginka” failed to sign any notable outside shooters during the off-season. In a series of head-scratching moves, they focused instead on adding more playmakers to the roster. As a result, the Lakers three-point shooting was the weakest part of the team’s offensive arsenal.
Pelinka went in a completely different direction this time. He signed three different players who had have shot 40% or higher on three-point tries in their careers: Danny Green, Quinn Cook and Troy Daniels, and also inked two players barely below that percentage, Jared Dudley and Alex Caruso.
In addition, the Lakers signed veteran Avery Bradley, who if healthy is a potential all-league backcourt defender, and re-signed both Rajon Rondo and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, each of whom will provide additional depth.
It is clear when you add up all the pieces that Pelinka has done a first-rate job at surrounding Davis, James and Kuzma with 10 solid role players. The Lakers should have some outstanding outside shooters (Green, Cook, Daniels, Caruso, Dudley) excellent perimeter defenders (Green, Bradley, Caruso and sometimes KCP) and a strong pair of centers to protect the rim along with AD.
Conclusion
It was easy to take potshots at Pelinka and to conclude that he was doomed to fail. But instead, he proved to be far more resilient and determined than people realized. And now he deserves kudos for building what seems to be a contender with a deep roster, and along with it a realistic feeling of expectation among fans that the Lakers might actually challenge for the NBA title once again this coming season.