Lakers could have had massive 2022 breakout star if not for Rob Pelinka
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers are off to a horrible start to the 2022-23 season that has fans dissecting just about every mistake that Rob Pelinka has made. Trading actual NBA assets for Russell Westbrook is the most obvious mistake that Pelinka has made but there have been plenty more.
It has been clear in the 25 months since the Lakers won the 2020 NBA Championship in the Orlando bubble that Pelinka and the Lakers’ brass stumbled into a championship roster and did not really understand why it was a championship roster.
Everything Pelinka has done since LeBron James hoisted his fourth NBA Championship has stripped that team of its identity. No shooting, no wings, and massive roster turnover year after year. It has been a sad, slow disaster that still earned him a contract extension from Jeanie Buss!
If Pelinka didn’t get cute with his roster building then the Lakers would have a contending team right now. In fact, they would have already had their third superstar that would have been a key part of the future alongside Anthony Davis!
The Los Angeles Lakers could have had 2022 breakout star, Desmond Bane.
Desmond Bane’s stock has probably risen the most in 2022. The third-year Grizzlie has exploded this season after putting together a strong second-half and postseason run last season. Bane is averaging 24.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while shooting 46.3% from three (he is a career 43.8% three-point shooter).
He has not just been the biggest breakout star of 2022 but he has been one of the best players in the NBA period this season. Bane is only 24 years old.
Could the Lakers really have had Desmond Bane? The answer to that question is a resounding yes. This is not a case of us playing hindsight general manager and simply pointing out a breakout player that all other 29 NBA teams could have had. There was legitimate traction for Bane coming to Los Angeles.
Bane was interviewed by the Lakers prior to the 2020 NBA Draft and said himself that he felt there was mutual interest between him and the team! At the time, there were expectations that Bane would be taken before the Lakers were on the clock, but if he did fall to LA, he would be a slam-dunk selection.
Bane did in fact fall to the Lakers’ 28th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. So what happened? Pelinka decided to instantly strip the team of its defensive identity, trading Danny Green and the 28th overall pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Dennis Schroder.
Not only did the Lakers get worse with the Green-Schroder swap, but they passed on their chance to draft a standout prospect like Desmond Bane. Instead, the Thunder flipped the 28th pick to the Timberwolves, who took another breakout player in Jaden McDaniels, who also would have been great on the Lakers.
Bane was selected two picks later by the Memphis Grizzlies and the rest was history.