The Los Angeles Lakers were bought by Josh Kushner and Bob Iger after Mark Walter’s brief tenure as owner. Two changes at the top in just over one year create significant turmoil. There are questions about every facet of the organization, including whether Rob Pelinka will remain as the general manager and top decision-maker on their roster. Pelinka survived the Walter era because Jeanie Buss remained governor. The new group paid $12.5 billion to buy the team, which likely changes things.
Pelinka loves bucket-getters, which makes some sense as he was the agent for Kobe Bryant. The current general manager can’t get enough. He has Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves leading his roster and still found the need to add Collin Sexton, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Jaden Hardy. Last season, he had Nick Smith Jr., Drew Timme, and Kobe Bufkin taking up roster spots. This trend dates back to just after the Lakers won the title in 2020.
Depth is more important than ever in the NBA. The Lakers are clearly building around Luka, and getting score-first players isn’t the answer. Los Angeles needs 3-and-D options. Not only has Pelinka ruined his first build around Doncic, but this Achilles' heel won’t allow him to survive the ownership change.
Rob Pelinka loves score-first players
Pelinka built the 2020 title roster by trading for Anthony Davis and signing a host of role players like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green, Alex Caruso, Dwight Howard, and Rajon Rondo. LA won the title in the bubble, and the general manager immediately shifted his strategy.
Trading for Dennis Schroder was his marquee move of the following offseason. It cost him the 28th pick, which turned into Jaden McDaniels and Danny Green. Two 3-and-D options went out, and a score-first guard came in. Pelinka liked Schroder so much that he offered a massive extension that the guard luckily turned down.
The next summer came the infamous Russell Westbrook trade, but fans forget the additions of Carmelo Anthony and Malik Monk to go with it. The Lakers missed the playoffs entirely and were arguably the NBA’s biggest disappointment.
That didn’t stop Pelinka. He added Schroder back in 2022 along with Lonnie Walker IV. He drafted Jalen Hood-Schifino and Dalton Knecht with his only two first-round draft picks from 2019 to 2025. Pelinka added D’Angelo Russell, Christian Wood, and Gabe Vincent in 2023. If you can get a bucket, Pelinka is interested.
Rob Pelinka has Luka Doncic and limited touches available
He is building the team around Doncic now, so connections with the superstar matter. Luka is one of the most ball-dominant superstars in the NBA. He led the league in usage percentage and scoring for the second time in three years. The Lakers want Doncic with the ball in his hands, creating elite offense.
Beyond that, Austin Reaves is the second star and figures to have a usage percentage over 25. Los Angeles wants to feed its stars, but that is lessening the impact of a score-first player from what many teams already see as quite low.
Fans can’t be shocked that the Lakers won the free-agent bidding wars for Quentin Grimes, Mamukelashvili, and Sexton. Teams haven’t valued these players in recent years because of their defensive issues and lack of overall offensive impact. They are bucket-getters, but not stars. Just the type of player Pelinka loves.
Josh Kushner and Bob Iger have tough decisions to make
Pelinka remade the roster around Luka this summer. He let eight players go, including LeBron James, and had cap space to retool. The general manager built the 2020 title team around King James and AD. He deserves credit for that and will bear the responsibility for this build, however it works out.
Kushner and Iger bought the franchise in a state of flux. Mark Walter was revamping the business side and restructuring the front office. The Lakers were expected to go from a family-owned business to a global empire. Do the new owners keep following Walter’s vision or change course? Nobody knows, but the Lakers need more help on the basketball side.
Pelinka’s draft track record is abysmal. LA needs to hire an expert and grow their scouting department. The Lakers have traded several picks, but rookie-scale contracts are more important than ever in the second apron era. They need to get some wins here.
The purple and gold have to scout better and improve their talent development. They've had some wins in the second round and with undrafted free agents, but producing talent is a must in the modern NBA.
The Los Angeles Lakers won a championship with Rob Pelinka, but the new owners will quickly learn his plans don’t work in this new era. Depth, shooting, and defense keep growing in importance. Pelinka loves scorers, who are best as sixth men. That isn’t winning a title. The new ownership will make a change as soon as they realize that Pelinka shouldn’t be leading basketball operations.
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