Lakers: NBA Insider Explains How Next Season Could Be GM Rob Pelinka's Last

The Athletic's Bill Oram discussed when and why Jeanie Buss would have "no choice" but to fire Rob Pelinka.

General manager Rob Pelinka's tenure as a Lakers executive has been full of highs and lows. The 2020 championship was the high. This past season, was unequivocally, the low. After acquiring Westbrook this summer, Pelinka proceeded to surround the new core of Russ, LeBron, and Anthony Davis with a slew of mostly over-the-hill veterans. As Lakers fans are acutely aware, it didn't work out.

The Lakers finished 16 games under .500 (33-49), 11th in the West, and didn't even qualify for the play-in.

After such a disappointing season, some of wondered how much leash Pelinka will have moving forward with Lakers owner Jeanie Buss. In an appearance on Locked on Lakers with the Kamenetzky brothers, The Athletic's Bill Oram talked about the outlook for Pelinka moving forward. 

"I asked someone broadly in those circles last week, if she would actually fire Rob and the response was with another disastrous season like this one, she would have to. She would have no choice. So I would suspect that she knows that."

Oram also spoke about what that definition of success is for any LeBron led Lakers team.

"If the Lakers were to build a roster around LeBron James, and any roster built around LeBron James is to be a championship team...barring catastrophic injuries or something like that, if they are sub-.500 team next year and that's another whack at the piñata for Rob Pelinka, I think that would a change would be coming."

For the most part, Lakers executives, and specifically Jeanie Buss, have taken a family-style approach when it comes to front office positions. Oram discussed that even Pelinka familiar relations with Buss might not prevent the Lakers majority owner from swinging the axe this time next year. 

"I get the sense that there is at least more of a business-like view of that dynamic now as opposed to just, he is an extension of Kobe therefore he has the ultimate faith."

It's a big offseason for Pelinka and the Lakers. In more ways than one.