Lakers GM Rob Pelinka is Failing LeBron James in the Twilight of His Career

Where would you rank Pelinka's job performance?

Since the 2018 offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers have been thrust back into the championship limelight. Between 2013 and 2019, the Lakers missed the playoffs every year, leading to a lot of anger in the organization.

Everything changed when star LeBron James agreed to join the team in free agency, putting them back on the map. The Lakers realized their championship goals with James when they traded for star big man Anthony Davis in James' second year with the team.

The star duo helped Los Angeles win the 2020 NBA title, creating one of the better units in the league. But since the 2020 season ended, things have gone downhill for Los Angeles.

Different injuries and busted trades have doomed the Lakers. But with James likely retiring in the next few seasons, Los Angeles has done a very poor job of helping him win in his twilight years.

Much of this directly falls on the shoulders of general manager Rob Pelinka but also on owner Jeanie Buss. However, the lack of significant roster moves, especially this offseason, hasn't been for a lack of trying.

After the team made the horrific trade for guard Russell Westbrook a few years ago, the team has been hesitant to do anything major. Fair or not, the trade for Westbrook set the Lakers back a little bit, while also depleting the strong depth that the team had built up during the title run.

Los Angeles did reach the Western Conference Finals in the 2022-23 season but ran into a juggernaut Denver Nuggets team. Last year, the Lakers felt good about themselves entering the year but more of the same happened.

Poor rotations and management decisions saw the Lakers be a play-in team once again. They were ultimately bounced in the first round of the playoffs and changes were expected.

However, as we sit in the middle of August, the only real change has been at the head coaching position. Pelinka has tried to make trades but it has been to no avail.

This is either due to other teams not being willing to fairly work with the Lakers or Pelinka himself not being able to close the deal. Whatever the case may be, James has continued to perform at a high level, even almost at the age of 40.

The Lakers have done what they can, to any extent, but the priority should have been to help him end his career on top. We likely will never see a player like James again so in retrospect, the Lakers have wasted the final few years of the legendary career.

While there is still time to rectify the poor decisions from this offseason, it seems that Los Angeles is content waiting for the perfect deal that may never come. They owe it to James and Davis to build a championship level roster so banner No. 18 can be won.

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