NBA Rumors: Lakers GM Believed To Be Untouchable Due To Deep Connections

The Los Angeles Lakers are in for a major struggle as the NBA enters the second half of the season, but it seems that general manager Rob Pelinka will get to keep his job through it all.

NBA correspondent Marc Stein reported on his subscription-based newsletter that Pelinka has full backing from Lakers owner Jeanie Buss.

“Pelinka has the unwavering support of Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and is firmly entrenched as a pillar of the club’s four-pronged brain trust alongside Buss and the power couple of Kurt and Linda Rambis,” wrote Stein.

The former ESPN writer and on-screen analyst also added that the public’s perceived power that LeBron James and his agent Rich Paul have over the Lakers are overshadowed by the fact that they are not in that inner circle of influence within the franchise.

“If [Jerry] West can be cut off, rest assured LeBron [James] can, too, if he can no longer lift the Lakers out of mediocrity,” Stein added.

This important update regarding the Lakers comes after Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus reported that Paul, serving as Klutch Sports’ CEO, was at odds with Pelinka for not undoing the disastrous fallout of the Russell Westbrook trade by moving him and their 2027 first-rounder for Houston Rockets point guard John Wall.

ESPN’s Dave McMenamin confirmed the safety of tenure that Pelinka has weeks before Stein’s piece came out following an extremely silent trade deadline.

The Lakers will be without eight-time All-Star Anthony Davis for the foreseeable future as he deals with a mid-foot sprain and are certainly in danger of missing both the playoffs and play-in tournament altogether.

James will be forced to carry the Lakers the rest of the way and there is reason to doubt that he can do the job as the team is bereft of depth across the board.

With the 37-year-old still having one more guaranteed year on his contract, there is reason to believe that James will be leaving Los Angeles once it expires in order to play basketball with his son Bronny, who is expected to enter the 2024 NBA draft.

James has since confirmed that his last year of playing professional basketball will be spent with his son, which likely means that a flight from Los Angeles is likely to happen by the 2024-25 season.

Whatever the case may be, it cannot be denied that the Lakers are walking on thin ice to start the second half of the season, though Pelinka looks to be the only one who will be spared.