Lakers GM Rob Pelinka Gets Honest About LA’s Title Chances in 2025

Can Los Angeles win it all?

Sep 25, 2024; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka at press conference at UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

During a press conference with first-year Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick, team vice president of basketball operations/general manager Rob Pelinka addressed his relative confidence regarding L.A.'s title chances in 2024-25.

The team clearly needed some major personnel overhaul after a 47-35 2023-24 regular season finish and a five-game first round playoff defeat at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. Instead, Pelinka had a fairly muted 2024 offseason. He drafted former All-American University of Tennessee Volunteers sharpshooter Dalton Knecht with the No. 17 pick in June's 2024 NBA Draft, and L.A. All-Star forward LeBron James' son Bronny out of USC with the No. 55 pick in the draft's second round.

“I think that’s really a question that I think we’ll have a better sense on after 30 games,” Pelinka said of the 2024-25 Lakers' championship chances. “But we believe in this group, and the 15 guys that play the games are gonna control the wins and losses with their effort, with how hard we play, with the pride we play with, with how organized and detail-oriented we are. I can tell you we can’t guarantee wins or losses, but we can guarantee that that’s going on with these guys. So the confidence and belief level is high. But the work is never done. So, we’ll continue to look for ways if we can to upgrade the roster. That’s part of our jobs and something we always have an open eye to doing. But if we have good health and good fortune, I really like our chances.”

Los Angeles also saw a pair of veterans, combo forward Taurean Prince and point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, depart in free agency. Prince inked a minimum deal with the Milwaukee Bucks (who had a nifty offseason, despite being totally capped-out), while Dinwiddie also signed a minimum contract to return to the Dallas Mavericks. Knecht and Bronny James are taking their spots on L.A.'s 15-man standard roster, but all other 13 players are the same. Signing Redick and overhauling its coaching staff behind him are essentially the Lakers' biggest offseason moves.

Pelinka's open-ended projection seems a bit optimistic. Los Angeles finished with a combined 90-74 record across its two seasons with now-ex-head coach Darvin Ham, and though the Lakers snuck into the 2023 Western Conference Finals, the team's miserable first round exit this year clearly signifies that the roster as-is just isn't enough. The Western Conference is deep, athletic and long, while the Lakers beyond All-Stars James and Anthony Davis are loaded down by one-way players.

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