Lakers GM Confident About Attracting 'Great Players', LeBron James Helping Out?

The Los Angeles Lakers are in for a busy summer after yet another disappointing campaign which saw them miss the playoffs for a franchise-record sixth consecutive season. But general manager Rob Pelinka was certain the team still had a “strong appeal” for top players looking for new franchises during the offseason.

NBA’s second-most successful franchise has parted ways with head coach Luke Walton and appointed Frank Vogel as the new head coach, along with Jason Kidd as his top assistant. Magic Johnson, who was the president of basketball operations, also quit the team after complaining about the lack of freedom to make important decisions.

The Lakers signed LeBron James on a four-year deal last summer in the hope of getting back to winning ways, but his first season did not go according to plan. He has vowed to help the team recruit top players in order to get them back to winning ways.

James was spotted having dinner with Anthony Davis, who is likely to be traded by the Pelicans this summer, while reports claimed he has also called Toronto Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard and Philadelphia 76ers guard Jimmy Butler about joining him in Los Angeles. And Pelinka was certain that the Lakers, despite being labelled unstable by some experts, still have the power to attract top players.

“I think the most important thing is that players look to who we really are and not what the impression is of what others are trying to create us to be. I think all of us know when we come to work every day that there is stability and strength and togetherness here,” Pelinka said, as quoted on Silver Screen and Roll.

“I think for any of us, we know who we are and ourselves, we know the characteristics and qualities we stand for. And we know as a staff and feel very strongly that if people judge and evaluate us for who we are as an organization and the vision and path we have going forward, we feel there’ll be a very, very strong appeal for the great players to come here,” he added.

Apart from Leonard and Butler, the likes of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker and Klay Thompson will enter free agency in July. Boston Celtics point guard Irving has been linked with a move to Lakers, while Durant, who the Lakers are also keen to sign, is likely to choose between New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers or Brooklyn Nets if he leaves the reigning NBA champions.