It is safe to say that Los Angeles Lakers fans are not happy with Rob Pelinka. After stumbling into a championship-winning team in large part thanks to LeBron James, Pelinka has done everything since to dismantle the team, proving he might not understand why the team was successful in the first place.
The fall from grace from that 2020 championship — which was won in October 2020 — to the start of the 2022-23 season in October 2022, is extremely painful to see. There legitimately is not one good decision for this front office as the team has collectively gotten worse and worse.
Lakers fans do not have to be reminded about how many mistakes Pelinka and the front office have made over the last two years. That has not stopped former Lakers Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma from hammering home that point.
Lakers Fans have certainly taken notice.
Player the Lakers could REALLY use right now.
— Omar Siddiqi (@osid24) October 22, 2022
Kyle Kuzma last night:
26 Points
6 Rebounds
2 Assists
50% FG
4/8 3PMpic.twitter.com/OJjwvcaify
Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have been exactly what the Lakers need.
While it is always great to see former Lakers succeed on their new teams, it does not make it any less painful for Lakers fans. KCP and Kuzma wouldn’t be putting up the exact same numbers in LA but with how strongly they are playing, they would certainly be miles better than the current role players on the roster.
Kuzma is averaging 24 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists. He is shooting 45.7% from the field and 38.9% from three. KCP, meanwhile, is averaging 13.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists with the Denver Nuggets. Caldwell-Pope is shooting 46.7% from the field and 50% from three.
Are these very small sample sizes? Yes. But the kind of players that Kuzma and KCP are is exactly what this Lakers team needs. How beneficial would it be to have a wing like Kuzma that can slash to the rim and hit off-ball threes as a decent rate? Kuzma isn’t the best defensively, but he is a high-effort player and would have fit in nicely under Darvin Ham.
Caldwell-Pope would give the Lakers the three-point shooting that they so desperately lack as well as a perimeter defender presence. He would add to the guard log-jam but he is more of a wing than someone like Patrick Beverley, who certainly is not a wing.
And to hammer the point home, let’s not forget that these two were traded for Russell Westbrook. There is not a team in the league that will take Westbrook without getting assets attached in the trade. Pelinka traded legitimate NBA assets and a first-round pick for Westbrook.
But sure, let’s give Rob Pelinka an extension because he has done such a great job, right?