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Oh No He Didn't: Anthony Slater on the Lakers: "Rob Pelinka keeps calling about Jonathan Kuminga"
The clincher that cemented the Lakers' one-year minimum deal to sign former lottery pick Ziaire Williams that was formally announced Sunday? I'm told that a four-person Lakers contingent — with assistant coaches Nate McMillan and Greg St. Jean joining lead executive Rob Pelinka and senior adviser Kurt Rambis — went to watch the 6-foot-9 Williams at a private workout at trainer Joe Abunassar's Impact Basketball gym in Las Vegas to gauge the state of Williams' game and recent efforts to sharpen his perimeter shooting.
The presence of Friedman and Zaidi has led to some speculation around the NBA that Walter could eventually look to replace Pelinka, who signed a multiyear contract extension and received a title bump last April, before the sale of the team. Thus far, however, that does not appear to be the case. Pelinka has told people around the NBA that he, Friedman and Zaidi are working "in collaboration," and that he's excited to be backed by a free-spending ownership group. He's also been the one running point on contract discussions with player agents.
Khobi Price: The Austin Reaves' re-signing is also official. Rob Pelinka: “Austin’s relentless pursuit of improvement, fierce competitiveness and commitment to winning have made him an integral part of our organization. From the moment he joined the Lakers, Austin has embodied the work ethic and selfless approach that define our culture. We’re thrilled to continue building with him as a cornerstone of our team as we pursue our championship goals.”
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The Los Angeles Lakers already came out to work and landed significant transactions this offseason. As such, they still won't mind adding one of their prominent free agent targets sooner. Los Angeles' ties and well-known hunt around Peyton Watson emerge yet again, as the talented forward was spotted having a brief time with Rob Pelinka. Pelinka embraced Watson before Friday's Summer League game of the Lakers against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both of them engaged in a conversation before the Denver Nuggets wing ultimately left the scene.
After the Hawks declined Kuminga’s $24.3 million team option on June 29, Lakers president of basketball operations/general manager Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick met with Kuminga the following day. A part of the Lakers’ free-agency pitch to Kuminga, a source told the California Post, was the Lakers seeing Kuminga as a high-level, starting wing who would complete the vision of their roster reconstruction around superstar guard Luka Doncic.
The Los Angeles Lakers continue to actively pursue unrestricted free agent wing Jonathan Kuminga, but they have not yet given him an enticing enough offer to commit, league sources told ESPN on Tuesday. After his $24.3 million team option was declined by the Atlanta Hawks on June 29, Kuminga met virtually the next day with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick, who pitched him on a vision of being a high-minutes wing next to Luka Doncic in a spacious on-court environment conducive to his skill set, league sources told ESPN.
Pelinka has remained in touch with Kuminga's agent, Aaron Turner, subtly improving their offer in recent days, league sources told ESPN, while reiterating to Kuminga his importance to what the Lakers are building around Doncic, a likely starting role and what the opportunity could do for his career. But Kuminga and Turner haven't jumped at it, believing there are still avenues to better deals as the offseason dominos continue to fall. That could include sign-and-trade opportunities involving the Hawks.
So earlier in the day Tuesday, when Paul needed to call Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka to inform him that his star client, LeBron James, would be continuing his basketball career elsewhere, he stepped into the Polo by Ralph Lauren store in the Southern Village to make the call. For a week, neither James' camp nor the Lakers had exchanged formal or even informal offers, according to sources on both sides of the situation. Nor had they discussed a vision for a future together, or even met face-to-face -- in person or virtually.
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No team in the league currently has fewer draft assets than the Lakers, who don’t control their own first-round pick until 2032 and their own second-round selection until 2033. The only other team I can remember emptying its asset cache in this way recently is the Minnesota Timberwolves. To say this deal must work is an understatement. It’s really hard to look at this as anything other than a desperation move for a much-maligned Lakers front office led by Rob Pelinka, who has consistently made the wrong moves on the margins while falling backward into superstars.
“I’m 100% sure that that’s not a place I would want to return,” Paul recalled James telling him. That ended any need for a formal meeting with the Lakers. Paul said his conversations with president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick were cordial, and he made clear that Los Angeles wanted James back. But once James had made up his mind, Paul did not want to waste anyone’s time. “They wanted to bring him back, obviously, but there didn’t need to be one,” Paul said of a Lakers offer. “And I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time.”
Anthony Davis: 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Twitter User: Anthony Davis practically begged Rob Pelinka to get him a CENTER alongside him for YEARS… Rob didn’t budge AD got back doored.. LeBron James lowkey got back doored.. and NOW he wanna be a competent GM now that the duo that won you a championship is gone.. you can’t make this s*** up LOL 🐍