After nearly a year of being the Lakers general manager, Rob Pelinka has been fired. In his brief time as GM, he wasted LeBron James’ prime years with an uninspiring roster and bad signings that didn’t live up to expectations in 2018-19.
The “lebron james accomplishments” is a blog post written by Rob Pelinka that criticizes LeBron James for not winning a championship during his first year in Los Angeles.
If the Los Angeles Lakers don’t turn things around in the next NBA season, it looks like head coach Frank Vogel will be fired. What problem does this solve? It’s almost nothing. President Rob Pelinka, not Vogel, is to blame for the Lakers’ current predicament.
It was always going to be interesting to see LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook on the court together since there was no way of predicting how it would play out. Each of the three players attracts a lot of defensive attention. In the case of James and Westbrook, they’re both ball-dominant guys.
The Lakers’ ability to build depth around the Big Three was restricted this season due to the fact that the three players account for nearly $121 million in compensation. What happened to the depth? It was with the Wizards of Washington. In exchange for Westbrook and three future second-round picks, the Lakers gave Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and their 2022 first-round lottery selection to Washington.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ rotation was depleted by Rob Pelinka’s removal of depth.
Rob Pelinka, General Manager of the Los Angeles Lakers | Michael Reaves/Getty Images
As a consequence of this deal, the Lakers were obliged to persuade players like Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, and Wayne Ellington, who were nearing the end of their NBA careers, to sign for the league minimum. Many of these players have minimal offensive capabilities, whether it’s as outside shooting threats or as a competent inside presence. They also had to let guard Alex Caruso go for the Chicago Bulls in free agency.
Kuzma, Caldwell-Pope, and Harrell all had some negative aspects to their performances and/or left the Lakers on a bad note. Kuzma, who was perhaps the finest thing the club had going for them before James, has now devolved into an ineffective scorer. Caldwell-Pope may have been overpaid when the Lakers won the NBA Finals in 2020 (he signed a three-year, $39 million contract with the Lakers in the summer of 2020). In three seasons, Harrell has played for four different clubs.
All three players, on the other hand, bring excellent skill sets to the table that the Lakers might use. Kuzma has the ability to score both inside and outside the paint. Caldwell-Pope has the potential to be a good shooter and defender. Harrell concludes with a flourish in the paint. Caruso was a two-way spark plug guard. If the Lakers had these four players on board, with James as the clear-cut point guard, they’d be a serious Western Conference contender this season.
Rob Pelinka is unable to explain the deal of Russell Westbrook.
“If you took any three all-stars in the NBA and your body of work was 15 games, that’s probably a small number of games to make any ultimate conclusions on.” Rob Pelinka weighs in on Russell Westbrook’s time with the #Lakers so far this season. pic.twitter.com/OTxB4s3xKl
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 11, 2022
Pelinka made a last-ditch effort to get Westbrook. LA possessed a talented roster and was a good bounce-back contender following a first-round playoff elimination a season after winning a title. There may have been some justification in making a daring move for Westbrook if the Lakers hadn’t won the all in 2020.
It was tough to foresee Westbrook, James, and Davis forming a bond, much alone a group with nine players over 30 remaining healthy. The Lakers may use this situation to make Vogel the scapegoat. They can argue that a club with three stars and a slew of seasoned players should be a shoo-in for the playoffs.
Even if James and Davis want to play with Westbrook, the transaction left no room for mistake or injury. It also provides intriguing trade assets and overall roster potential. Pelinka effectively eliminated whatever chance the Lakers had of winning another title with James.
Pelinka would be dismissed after this season if the Lakers never win the NBA Finals in 2020 or if he managed any other NBA club. His rash decision to sign Westbrook is unjustifiable.
Is Vogel justified by the Lakers’ 31-42 record or their previous shortcomings? Obviously not. This club is a defensive disaster that is stuck in the halfcourt and too dependent on James and Westbrook. Vogel, on the other hand, isn’t the one who put together a squad with no prospects. With the Lakers, history shows that it’s always the head coach’s fault.
The Lakers’ woes are not the fault of Frank Vogel.
Since Phil Jackson’s retirement in 2011, the Lakers have had a revolving door of head coaches. Mike Brown was dismissed five games into the 2012-13 season, which saw the additions of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. After two seasons as the coach of one of the weakest squads in the NBA, Byron Scott was dismissed.
Under Luke Walton, the Lakers showed some promise. After a poor 2018-19 season, James and LaVar Ball felt it was time for Walton to go. This time, unless the Lakers go on a lengthy playoff run, Vogel is expected to be fired.
When a club with championship hopes has a poor record and may miss the playoffs, no one is vindicated. With that said, Vogel isn’t the one who brought the Lakers to their knees; that honor belongs to Pelinka. In the front office, there is a need for change.
Spotrac provided the contract numbers.
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