The Los Angeles Lakers’ inability to improve their roster ahead of this year’s NBA Trade Deadline may have been a turning point in LeBron James’ relationship with Rob Pelinka.
Shortly after LA opted to stay pat, Pelinka came out and said he had James’ express permission to do so.
Not 24 hours later, a contradictory report emerged. And it was particularly scathing.
This weekend, at the All-Star Game, James once again seemed to hint dissatisfaction with the way Pelinka does his job.
Lakers’ LeBron James on Thunder GM Sam Presti: “The MVP over there is Sam Presti… I don’t understand this guy’s eye for talent. He drafted KD, Russ, Jeff Green, Serge Ibaka, Reggie Jackson, Josh Giddey. … This guy is pretty damn good.” pic.twitter.com/mNb35Ggi6P
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 19, 2022
Those comments feel oddly similar to James’ other recent comments regarding Los Angeles Rams GM Les Snead, who recently won a Super Bowl after getting rid of all his draft capital in order to acquire stars.
Clearly a pattern is emerging.
The odd part about James’ seeming friction with Pelinka is that he reportedly cosigned a lot of the moves that the Lakers made.
Yes, Los Angeles made a big mistake acquiring Russell Westbrook. Particularly when they could have had MVP candidate DeMar DeRozan, only to shadily turn him away. Same with Buddy Hield.
But James is the reason for that. He was a strong proponent of adding Westbrook.
Now that the move has failed, he refuses to take responsibility? Yikes.
There’s a reason players who have been traded by the Lakers recently suggest that the organization is an absolute shambles right now. It clearly is.
The video speaks for itself. https://t.co/DkNoVxeQHA
— Game 7 (@game7__) February 20, 2022
What will that mean for Pelinka’s job security? Particularly now that he’s on the wrong side of James?
Time will tell.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
