Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka had to win fans over this past season due to the abysmal 2021-22 season and another poor start in 2022-23. The acquisition of guard Russell Westbrook in the summer of 2021 was a short-lived experiment and many fans wanted Pelinka to abandon the three-star model and construct a well-rounded team.
In the summer of 2022, the Lakers had a head coaching vacancy and a player in Westbrook who did not fit around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. When the franchise hired Darvin Ham, Pelinka was given a four-year contract extension to match with Ham’s contract, a move that confused fans due to the previous roster decisions that the general manager has made.
Fans saw Pelinka right his wrongs at the trade deadline though and seemingly made something out of nothing, which was impressive to see. Despite the past mistakes, Lakers governor Jeanie Buss continues to stand by Pelinka and his vision for the team, via Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.com:
“I always felt then and now that Rob was the right person to be in charge of our front office. I continued to do so. Every decision that is made isn’t always the perfect one. But it’s the decision you make after that that counts. We had a roster that didn’t work and wasn’t working. But you can’t change things overnight in the NBA. But you can set yourself up by making the next right decision.
“That’s exactly what Rob did. He’s very strategic. He’s very big picture. He endured a lot of challenges as did I in terms of media scrutiny. But we knew what we wanted to accomplish in the long term. You had to be patient, and you had to do the work. Every decision, you have the opportunity to make the next right decision. That’s what Rob has proven.”
For much of the 2022-23 season, Laker fans felt hopeless due to the team’s struggles and lack of assets to make real improvements. It was hard to imagine a worthwhile trade with the pieces on the team at the time without attaching both of their 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks. However, Pelinka was able to bring in productive and valuable pieces while only giving up one first, transforming the Lakers from a lottery team to championship contenders overnight.
Pelinka continued to improve the roster this summer, bringing back their core from the second half of last season while adding some quality talent to come off the bench.
While the 2021-22 and beginning of 2022-23 season felt like the dark ages for Lakers fans, it feels rewarding to make it out of those times with a team that is now in the mix to win a championship next season.
Buss commends Ham for how he handled first season
A big part of the Lakers’ turnaround in 2022-23 was also the coaching of Ham, who was in his first season as an NBA head coach.
Despite the Lakers’ poor start, Ham never got too down and continued working extremely hard to return the Lakers to prominence, something Buss recently commended him for.
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