Pelinka and Final Decisions

[Eric Bieniemy]

Assuming that reports are true that Pelinka let James and Davis decide between Westbrook and Hield, is it reasonable to allow your stars to make these decisions?

If it is reasonable, where is the line drawn?

Why did they not consult James and Davis in the release of Jared Dudley or not resigning Caruso?

Am I wrong to assume that in Pelinka asking his two stars to decide between Westbrook and Hield that he himself considered both players to be equally impactful, equally great fits?

If Pelinka shared our belief that Westbrook was an awful fit on this team, would he still have allowed his opinion to be usurped by his stars?

I'm convinced he had to have liked Westbrook on this roster. If this is true, what does that say about Pelinka's foundational abilities to construct a well-balanced roster?

Does the Westbrook trade affirm that Pelinka has a huge blind spot in assessing and forecasting how pieces will fit?

[Ball so hard]

It’s a lose-lose situation with respect to your first question. IMO GMs need to have the temerity to make a decision and live with the consequences. I’d rather be blamed for something I did on my own volition. What good is a damn yes-man!

Pure money-moves typically come from the owner. There’s very little sway your star players have in this regard.

That is the implication… both players are equal. Another theory is that Pelinka is a puppet who does whatever Lebron and AD wants on matters with which they are consulted.

Frankly I do not believe Pelinka has a pulse on most roster related decisions.

[LAKESHOW]

This exonerates Magic imo. He would have no problem saying NO to Lebron and AD. And he alongside Pelinka constructed the team that won the Chip

[Eric Bieniemy]

This exonerates Magic imo. He would have no problem saying NO to Lebron and AD. And he alongside Pelinka constructed the team that won the Chip

Magic was already gone when Pelinka constructed that championship team.

Pelinka deserves credit for that team, not Magic.

[Kilroy]

Ooooor.... Everyone is lying about James and AD not having a say in letting Caruso and Dudley go...

Did you see Caruso get ignored by AD after his thank you ceremony, after he hugged it out with Lebron?

At the end of the day, do you really trust Rob Pelinka to buid a championship NBA Team, without help from LeBron/Klutch? Aside from being Kobe's friend and agent (which lets be honest... are mutually exclusive titles), what are his qualifications?

Rob Pelinka is not the next Pat Riley or something, just because they use the same hair jelly...

Hiring Pelinka happened because we had Klutch in house and didn't need a powerhouse GM... We needed an excellent deal maker and cap guy, which I think Pelinka is.

[SlimShady83]

We all know LeGm is the real reason for this team LOL enough said

[Pythagoras]

Pelinka, Lebron, and Jeannie all own a part of the misses this offseason IMO. If Not for Lebron the Lakers would still have KCP, Hield, and whatever they could have gotten for their first round pick. I’m hard pressed to believe that Caruso not being here was anything but Jeannie just being cheap. That doesn’t mean I think Pelinka is blameless for some of the rosters problems.

I get that he was working with mainly minimum contracts, but even still, this team basically has no good bigger, versatile forwards outside of Melo, Lebron, and AD. There’s a lot of expectations that Ariza is going to provide a big boost to this team when he gets back. I’m skeptical, but we’ll see.

[LAKESHOW]

This exonerates Magic imo. He would have no problem saying NO to Lebron and AD. And he alongside Pelinka constructed the team that won the Chip

Magic was already gone when Pelinka constructed that championship team.

Pelinka deserves credit for that team, not Magic.

Sorry, you can't open a Pelinka thread without gettin some Real Talk.
MAGIC would absolutely have NO PROBLEM using the N Word with Lebron and AD...NO.
Pelinka is treading awfully close to being a Rail Road track where is just lays down and allows the Trains to run him over.
I'm going to even say Vogel is on the edge of giving a big FU to Pelinka. Spends a whole summer camp, several months with all these Pelinka guys, trains, work outs, Lotta work.
But immediately when Avery Bradley steps thru the door, Starts Bradley the next morning. No training camp. No summer time work, just benches all of Pelinkas acquisitions and Starts a dude. Tells ya somethin doesn't it?
Lastly, if that championship had nothing to do with Magic, very simply bro, you haven't been watching.

[tamaraw08]

This exonerates Magic imo. He would have no problem saying NO to Lebron and AD. And he alongside Pelinka constructed the team that won the Chip

Magic was already gone when Pelinka constructed that championship team.

Pelinka deserves credit for that team, not Magic.

Sorry, you can't open a Pelinka thread without gettin some Real Talk.
MAGIC would absolutely have NO PROBLEM using the N Word with Lebron and AD...NO.
Pelinka is treading awfully close to being a Rail Road track where is just lays down and allows the Trains to run him over.
I'm going to even say Vogel is on the edge of giving a big FU to Pelinka. Spends a whole summer camp, several months with all these Pelinka guys, trains, work outs, Lotta work.
But immediately when Avery Bradley steps thru the door, Starts Bradley the next morning. No training camp. No summer time work, just benches all of Pelinkas acquisitions and Starts a dude. Tells ya somethin doesn't it?
Lastly, if that championship had nothing to do with Magic, very simply bro, you haven't been watching.

I am betting you though that didn't like the Westbrook trade either and he's not that stupid to simply say yes, that he actually went to see Jeannie Buss and tell him his concerns. Jeannie being afraid to alienate Lebron and Davis eventually relented with concessions like Davis playing center to open things up on offense. Its been ugly but we need to give this team a chance once Lebron and Nunn join the team and play 10 games together. Vogel playing Bradley right away was bec they were not playing great defense coupled with the multiple injuries to THT, Nunn, etc.

[LAKESHOW]

Sure, I'm willing to give it some time and let's see how it all plays out. Besides, it ain't even Christmas yet, not even close to 2nd half. However, my contention has always been based on our history. We have a long track record of winning around here. Before these guys were even alive. And KEY to back to backs, or 3 peats or Championships period has been Chemistry. Magic, Kareem, Worthy, etc almost ran a whole decade together. Kobe, Shaq, fish etc had been together since the 90s, before cracking the code in the 2000s. So we have a Championship organization that has shown us what it takes.
Get rid of some players? Sure, but not all of those Role players were trash. A Caruso, a kcp, a Sasha vujacic, a d fish, these are all Championship pieces that are hard to build, and not easy to find and rebuild over again.
Thats all I'm sayin, Chemistry does play a role when building Championship teams.

[LAKESHOW]

Magic was already gone when Pelinka constructed that championship team.

Pelinka deserves credit for that team, not Magic.

Sorry, you can't open a Pelinka thread without gettin some Real Talk.
MAGIC would absolutely have NO PROBLEM using the N Word with Lebron and AD...NO.
Pelinka is treading awfully close to being a Rail Road track where is just lays down and allows the Trains to run him over.
I'm going to even say Vogel is on the edge of giving a big FU to Pelinka. Spends a whole summer camp, several months with all these Pelinka guys, trains, work outs, Lotta work.
But immediately when Avery Bradley steps thru the door, Starts Bradley the next morning. No training camp. No summer time work, just benches all of Pelinkas acquisitions and Starts a dude. Tells ya somethin doesn't it?
Lastly, if that championship had nothing to do with Magic, very simply bro, you haven't been watching.

Vogel playing Bradley right away was bec they were not playing great defense coupled with the multiple injuries to THT, Nunn, etc.

A Starter? Dude just stepped through the door, didn't even get a chance to warm up. And then Starts? Cmon now. He did not play for several months, and then did not go to the bubble with us. Then spent a year or whatever with Miami. Period of time with the rockets. Then started out with the warriors, who then cut him. Then shows up with his bags at the door, no summer camp, no training, THEN STARTS?? Lets get real. Vogel clearly doesn't care much for Pelinkas moves as well.

[magicbesteva]

I was just thinking the same thing. Who made the final decision on Westbrook? Had to be LeBron but I kind of blame Pelinka for not knowing how bad the fit is or having a better plan in place.
Pelinka lacks creativity. If he planned it right he could have had Zo Derozan and Caruso. Not for the deals they got in Chicago but he could have gotten them.

[stan francisco]

Pelinka is doing what Klutch says.

I’d rather see him run things the way he wants to than doing it the way LBJ and Klutch see it. Pelinka is a drafting genius, he knows his job. He built a great young team that was torn apart when LBJ arrived.

I’m with Rob. I think Frank is, too. I’d guess that Klutch is the Kluntz when it comes to some of these idiotic trades.

Avery Bradley knew Frank’s defensive system. All others were new to it. Come on folks.

[stan francisco]

Another thing that comes to mind is Kobe. He loved Russ’ attacking offensive game. Melo was a friend. LBJ and AD saw him as Kobe saw MJ. Hield or Russ? Uhhh. Some part of Pelinka and Klutch and Lakers is considering Kobe in these decisions.

The only good thing about that would be that we might soon be gunning for Trey Young, Gianna’s fav player.

[wco81]

Trae Young?

He’s Atlanta’s franchise player and signed for 5 years.

Probably getting a super max after that.

[chefy]

Combo of Klutch calling the shots and so-so FO IMO.

GM's always go for big names vs "the right fit". It looks good on their resumes regardless of the outcome and the media loves it.

Not a big fan of Pelinka.

Never forget when he fumbled probably the best free agency year in awhile.

All the hands that he had that year (lebron, AD, playing in los angeles, playing for Lakers) and the best he could do was Danny Freaking Green and Jared Dudley?

[SlimShady83]

Kind of can't wait for Lebron era to go IMO ... Great talent and all that, can't argue there. I'm just over it all.

[SlimShady83]

The real question is, how is this team going to be when Lebron retires? will we/Lakers have to rebuild, will we/Lakers have draft picks by then etc? going to be a tough rebuild IMO

[fteru6uhre54ew]

The real question is, how is this team going to be when Lebron retires? will we/Lakers have to rebuild, will we/Lakers have draft picks by then etc? going to be a tough rebuild IMO

If Pelinka is a little bit smart or whatever GM is going to be there in a short future he should trade LeBron still being good for another star or a good combo.

[SlimShady83]

The real question is, how is this team going to be when Lebron retires? will we/Lakers have to rebuild, will we/Lakers have draft picks by then etc? going to be a tough rebuild IMO

If Pelinka is a little bit smart or whatever GM is going to be there in a short future he should trade LeBron still being good for another star or a good combo.

Trading Lebron is not going to happen buddy, not any GM going to do that.