TL;DR
- Lakers dismissed Jesse and Joey Buss early in the season.
- A former executive believes Rob Pelinka should be replaced for the Lakers to win a title.
- The executive downplayed the Buss brothers' role in acquiring Austin Reaves.
- Despite issues, Pelinka is credited with a potential trade for Luka Doncic.
The Los Angeles Lakers swiftly implemented changes to their front office early in the season, dismissing Jesse and Joey Buss, who are Jeanie Buss' brothers.
According to a former NBA executive, Los Angeles ought to escalate its actions and finalize a massive front office move that includes its general manager, Rob Pelinka.
“The Lakers won’t win a title in the Luka (Doncic) era if they keep Rob,” the former executive stated, according to Lakers Daily's Ashish Mathur. “Mark (Walter) needs to hire someone with a smarter basketball mind than Rob to run the basketball operations.”
“I really liked the move of getting rid of Joey and Jesse. Everyone always gives them credit for finding Austin (Reaves), but Austin chose to work out for the Lakers and chose not to get drafted by the (Detroit) Pistons so he could land with the Lakers. That wasn’t some grand find by the Buss brothers. That was all Austin and his camp.”
Despite the Lakers' difficulties in the playoffs since winning the 2020 NBA championship, Pelinka merits recognition for executing what might be considered the most astute trade ever.
Given Anthony Davis's reportedly strained relationship with The Lakers and his seemingly unprecedented injury history in the NBA, Pelinka suspected it would benefit Los Angeles to trade him to the Dallas Mavericks for Doncic on February 2nd.
As Doncic enters his peak performance years and has demonstrated the capacity to guide a team to the NBA finals, it's reasonable to conclude the Lakers are well-positioned for the upcoming period.
Pelinka has also mastered the art of appeasing a franchise-elevating asset like Doncic, as the 55-year-old has surrounded the 6-foot-6 star with the pieces necessary to remain in contention in the Western Conference.
For those reasons, it’s highly unlikely the Lakers will move on from Pelinka anytime soon.
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