The Los Angeles Lakers and Rob Pelinka are making one thing very clear heading into a massive offseason: tanking is not an option.
With Luka Doncic now established as the centerpiece of the franchise, Pelinka made it known during his end-of-season press conference that the organization has no interest in following the long rebuild path that helped create teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons.
“You mentioned Detroit, San Antonio, OKC, what did those teams have to go through to build through the Draft, in your opinion? Multiple seasons of losses,” Pelinka said during his press conference. “That is just not part of our infrastructure here. As much as some of us might want it to be, it’s not the Lakers Way. We have to find sustained excellence, so it does create, at times, a thread the needle. Where you’ve got to find a way to have championship rosters every year.”
Pelinka acknowledged that franchises like Oklahoma City and San Antonio successfully rebuilt through the draft, but he also pointed out how risky that strategy can become if a team never lands a true superstar capable of leading a championship run.
“I will say the hardest thing to do to get to that point is to have a young, transformative player that can carry you in the playoffs all the way to a championship,” Pelinka said. “That’s the hardest thing to get. You could lose five years in a row and get five top-five picks, and come out of it without that player. It’s really hard, but we were able to get that in Luka, so that part of the puzzle is solved. And we’re grateful for that.”
“Now it’s just a matter of putting all the other pieces around that to be able to get to the end.”
The Lakers now enter one of the most important offseasons in recent franchise history with pressure squarely on Pelinka and the front office to build a true contender around Doncic.
READ MORE: Victor Wembanyama Delivers Historic Masterclass Against OKC