Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has done an excellent job with the team. Not only was Pelinka able to create a title-winning team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but he was able to make that title-winning team even better in 2021.
Rarely do we see a title-winning team that is already the most talented team in the league get better. Typically, if that does happen, it is a result of a star joining the defending champions to win some rings himself (looking at you, Kevin Durant).
This was not that. Instead, Pelinka brought in several very talented role players in the likes of Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell, Wesley Matthews and Marc Gasol to replace those that left the team.
Of the new additions, Gasol has been the most disappointing. He is still a positive impact on the defensive end but he has been rather lackluster offensively. More importantly, he plays less than 20 minutes per game with the Lakers not having a true backup center behind him.
Marc Gasol highlights two mistakes the Los Angeles Lakers made this offseason
Gasol himself was not a mistake. The Los Angeles Lakers signed him to a two-year, $5.2 million contract. While we expected a bit more out of Gasol, he is 35 years old and he was never going to light the league on fire.
The mistakes are centered around Gasol, proving that Rob Pelinka is not perfect. But hey, hindsight is always 20/20 and I am in no way trying to pass myself off as smarter than Rob Pelinka.
But if he got a second chance at the offseason, he would probably correct these two mistakes as well.