Former Lakers Champ Slams Rob Pelinka For Breaking Up 2020 Squad

Matt Levine | Aug 26, 2024

When the Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 NBA title, everything seemed to be going right with the future of the team. They had stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis working well together, surrounded by a collection of very solid role players.

However, in the summer that followed the 2020 NBA Finals, the Lakers dismantled the championship core. Los Angeles general manager Rob Pelinka started to tinker with the team instead of letting the players run things back.

Even without the NBA bubble, the Lakers were one of the best teams in the NBA prior to the shutdown. Los Angeles had depth at all positions but Pelinka believed that an upgrade was needed.

Former Lakers center Dwight Howard opened up about the 2020 team and slammed Pelinka for not allowing them to go for a repeat title.

“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. 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.”

Howard was one of the pieces that didn't return after the Lakers won the championship. He did come back to the Lakers in the 2021-22 season but the team had already been dismantled at that point.

Many wanted the Lakers to run things back or at least bring back the majority of the core in place. Pelinka and the front office had other ideas.

To the credit of Pelinka, the 2020-21 team was one of the better units in the NBA before injuries hit. Both James and Davis missed significant time during the year and Los Angeles stumbled to become the 7th seed in the postseason.

The Lakers took a 2-1 series lead over the Phoenix Suns in the first round but an injury to Davis derailed all potential of an upset. Most believe that if Davis didn't get hurt, the Lakers would have at least returned to the NBA Finals that season.

We will never know what could have happened if the 2020 team didn't get broken up but it's clear that some players still aren't over it. Los Angeles hasn't won a title since 2020 so maybe they were onto something.

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