Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka sees what the rest of us do — the Lakers are sometimes pretty doggone good, sometimes the opposite of that, and could still probably use some help.
So, he’s doing what every GM does at this time of year and that is to make calls, take calls, and try to find a way to improve.
And per Dave McMenamin of ESPN, that is what Pelinka did Monday when the actual team was winning a road game against the Charlotte Hornets. LA has actually won three straight now, and all on the road.
That win over the Hornets, by the way, was the Lakers’ last game before Thursday’s trade deadline. So who knows what they may look like then? One thing we can say for sure is they’re not trading LeBron James or Anthony Davis. Other than that, it’s anyone’s guess.
“While wins over quality opponents such as the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks were encouraging, and even the Hornets win required some temerity to stave off a late run by a young ballclub playing with no pressure, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka was ‘stuck on calls’ all day, a team source told ESPN, discussing potential deals,” McMenamin wrote.
The Lakers (27-25) have been linked to at least an entire roster of players, including Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray, Washington Wizards point guard Tyus Jones, Detroit Pistons forward Danilo Gallinari and Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie and Nets forwards Royce O’Neale and Dorian Finney-Smith. All are nice veteran players. It’s hard to know if any of them would actually make the Lakers better.
But hey, Pleinka is running the basketball side of things and it’s his job to find out. So that is precisely what he is doing.
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