Radical changes within the Lakers front office may have just begun.
After the team fired Joey and Jesse Buss and much of the scouting staff, one former NBA executive thinks Mark Walter's next move should be bigger, including ousting president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka.
“The Lakers are not going to win a championship in Luka [Doncic] The unnamed former executive told Lakers Daily, “If they keep Rob, it's time. Mark needs to hire someone with a smarter basketball mind than Rob to run the basketball operations.”
The executive also made it clear that he supports Walt's decision to part ways with the Bass brothers, refuting long-standing claims that they scouted Austin Reeves.
“I really like getting rid of Joey and Jesse,” he added. “Everyone praises them for finding Austin [Reaves]but Austin chose to try out for the Lakers and chose not to be selected by the Pistons so that he could join the Lakers. This was not a major discovery for the Bass brothers. This is Austin and his camp.
“Mark and the Magician [Johnson] Very close. Don't think Magic has forgiven Rob for all the backstabbing he's done. “
Pelinka has served as general manager and president of basketball operations since 2017, a tenure that was highlighted by a 2020 championship but marked by inconsistency on the roster.
The executive noted that the key offseason additions were not driven by Pelinka.
“Anyone can make this trade,” the former NBA executive said. “Rob's job isn't great. He's only won one championship with LeBron and AD. He's never traded a center when LeBron and AD were pretty much begging for him, too. Mark knows that.
“If I were in Max's shoes, I would tell him to part ways with Rob and hire someone who didn't get a job because of Kobe [Bryant] is his friend. “
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