Lakers News: Rob Pelinka receives a strong grade for his recent moves
By Nick Ziegler
Recent Lakers news has been about how Rob Pelinka has done with his most recent moves as the general manager of the team.
With the NBA coming up with a plan to resume the season, recent Lakers news has been about what the rest of the season might look like for the franchise.
After a challenging 2018-19 season, the Lakers have met and exceeded all of their expectations this season. Before the league was suspended, the Lakers had the best record in the Western Conference and the second-best record in the entire league behind only the Milwaukee Bucks.
Since taking over as the general manager, Rob Pelinka has helped shape the franchise into what it is now.
Recently, Bleacher Report gave Pelinka a solid grade of a B for his recent moves made as the general manager.
Even though it has been a bit shaky for Pelinka in his overall tenure as a general manager, he has certainly been very good of late. This offseason, Pelinka was able to get a blockbuster deal done with the New Orleans Pelicans to bring Anthony Davis to the Lakers.
Making huge deals like this are never easy or simple, but the pairing of Davis and LeBron James has created one of the best duos in the NBA. Also this offseason, he was able to sign guys like Danny Green, Avery Bradley, and Dwight Howard, who have all helped get the team to where it is now.
While this offseason has been much better for Pelinka, last year was not a good one. Pelinka and Magic Johnson did not pair James with the type of players that help him succeed.
One of the sneaky good moves that Pelinka made as a general manager was the trade to clear cap space that sent Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers tried to go all-in with James in what ended up being his final season.
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That deal helped create the cap space the Lakers needed to sign James and the signing of James has obviously changed things for the franchise in a big way. Even though he hasn’t been perfect, Pelinka has been a pretty strong GM for the Lakers of late and deserves this solid grade.