Former Lakers Coach Agrees With Dwight Howard that Rob Pelinka Made Mistake Breaking Up 2020 Team

Dwight Howard blames general manager Rob Pelinka for the Lakers' downfall after 2020 championship.

Oct 11, 2020; Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) shakes hands with forward Anthony Davis (3) after receiving the MVP award after game six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena. The Los Angeles Lakers won 106-93 to win the series. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

On October 11, 2020, the Los Angeles Lakers won their most recent NBA championship. L.A. vanquished the Miami Heat in a six-game NBA Finals series, adding a 17th title to the franchise's illustrious history. The NBA's Orlando "bubble" run will be one of the most memorable times in professional sports history as fans watched from home as the leagues best competed in an AAU-type environment for an opportunity at hoisting the coveted Larry O'Brien Trophy.

The 2020 Lakers team looked like a group that was ready to propel themselves into dynasty status but that dream would soon end the following NBA season. General manager and vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka began to make changes to the Lakers' roster instead of "running it back" with the team that he just won a championship with.

Former Lakers center Dwight Howard spoke about the missed opportunity made by the front office during an episode of viral sports podcast 'Gil's Arena' hosted by Washington Wizards legend Gilbert Arenas.

“After we won, they started tweaking the roster. I’mma tell you who it was— Rob Pelinka, man. God, Rob, why did you do that to us, man? Rob, come on, man," Howard said. "I still love you, Rob, but dang, man. We had the squad, bro. Even if we ran it back, we could have run it back. We would have been healthier for the next year.”

respect to marc gasol, but 2020 dwight howard was a different beastpic.twitter.com/OX8H1Byqoc https://t.co/gegLUzZC69

— libz ⚡️ (@libothy) June 3, 2023

Some may argue that the 2020-21 Lakers team was better. That club was just unfortunately riddled with injuries, causing them to plummet to the seventh seed in the West, where they would eventually fall to the Phoenix Suns. The All-NBA tandem of LeBron James and Anthony Davis battled injuries all season which could have attributed to a short turnaround between the NBA Bubble and the following season.

When the quote by Howard was posted on Instagram, legendary player development coach Phil Handy who served as an assistant at the time seemingly agreed with Howard after commenting "fact!" under the post.

The chemistry of the 2019-20 Lakers squad was unmatched as they played some of the most unselfish basketball in the NBA during their run together. It is unfortunate that Los Angeles fans were robbed (no pun intended) of the opportunity to see the group that owned the bubble get another chance to play together. This upcoming NBA season will be important for the Lakers front office to deliver as the growing frustrations amongst the fanbase are at a high.

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