Don’t look now but Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ much maligned president of basketball operations, may have pulled off the best offseason of his front office career and positioned the purple and gold for a championship run.
Under immense pressure from soon-to-retire LeBron James, newly traded superstar Luka Doncic, and brand new owner Mark Walter, Rob Pelinka managed to sign four impact players without giving up any draft capital. Rob moved from #55 to #36 to draft defensive forward Adou Thiero and signed free agent starting center De’Andre Ayton, promising backup small forward Jake LaRavia, and defense-first backup point guard Marcus Smart.
The above depth chart clearly shows how Pelinka has transformed the Lakers’ heavily one-way player offense-first roster into a roster with better offense-defense balance and more two-way players than one-way players.
Projected starters are in the top row, backups in second row, and reserves in third row. First column shows point guards, second shooting guards, third small forwards, fourth power forwards, and fifth column centers.
After Smart clears waivers and signs, the Lakers will have 14 active players. Right now, Jarred Vanderbilt would likely be the starting small forward for more defense with Rui Hachimura coming off the bench for more offense.
Studying the depth chart, however, it’s obvious that all the Lakers need to be a legitimate title contender is an elite 3&D starting small forward, which they could add before the season or wait until midseason trade deadline.
Bottom line, Rob Pelinka has the Lakers perfectly positioned not only to compete for a championship this season but also to replace LeBron James with a second superstar via trade or free agency in summer 2026 or 2027.
Trade for Starting Small Forward Before Season Or Before Deadline?
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The Lakers under Rob Pelinka have traditionally favored making trades in midseason before the trade deadline, embracing the strategy that this is when player prices will be the lowest and the best deals can be made.
Most smart NBA front offices strive to make major changes in the offseason rather than in midseason to give their coaching staff and players a chance to play and practice together and figure out how to play during preseason.
Bringing in new starters or key rotation players midseason is challenging because NBA teams simply do not have the opportunities to practice due to the regular season schedule and have less than half a season of games left.
While it would be great if the Lakers did not make a trade and Vanderbilt managed to stay healthy, play like an all-pro on defense, and simply do the little team-first things on offense, that still might not be good enough.
Scrambling at the trade deadline to find a deal Rob believes is a winner for a key starting small forward seems like a repeat of previous disappointing offseasons. The Lakers would be smarter to trade now rather than later.
Trading now for the ‘right’ starting small forward would not only give the new starter a chance to bond with his teammates in camp and preseason but would also give the front office a second midseason bite at the apple.
If necessary, the Lakers could even include a 2028 first round pick swap as part of an Andrew Wiggins package while still being able to trade their 2026, 2031, and 2033 first round picks for a superstar on draft day 2026.
Rob Pelinka needs to understand the Lakers are now just one or two impact players away from becoming a legitimate championship contender for next season. Trade for the final championship pieces before the season starts.
Replace LeBron Via Blockbuster Trade or Free Agent Signing?
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Hoovering over every move Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office makes is the emerging reality that this is almost certainly LeBron James’ final season as a Los Angeles Laker and very possibly his last year in the NBA.
Rumors have started that #23 will announce before the season that he will retire as a Los Angeles Laker at the end of his 23rd season in the NBA. This will also be strong motivation for the Luka Lakers to go all-in next season.
This is the storybook ending the Lakers and LeBron were choreographing all offseason. It’s why the Lakers never offered an extension and why Klutch Sports never asked for an extension. Lakers and LeBron in sync.
Just as he can make a consolidation before the start or during the season, Rob Pelinka has positioned the Lakers with two opportunities to replace LeBron James with a new superstar in summer of 2026 or summer 2027.
The strategy Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office has put together to replace LeBron James is designed to enable them to trade for a superstar the summer of 2026 or sign a free agent superstar the summer of 2027.
The Lakers’ strategy makes perfect sense. No max contract superstars are projected to be free agents next summer so the Lakers will focus on using their three first round picks to trade for a superstar to replace LeBron.
While it’s early, the Lakers top two superstar targets to replace LeBron James are Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, both of whom have player options for 2027–28 and could be in play the summer of 2027.
Look for Lakers to continue to hold onto their first round draft picks as the most likely pathway to acquiring a superstar big to replace LeBron James is via a blockbuster 2027 offseason trade rather than free agency signing.
This site really needs a laugh or eyeroll reaction.
Aloha Tom, I agree that Rob has done a great job, with an assist from Luka’s recruiting. The team is better than I had hoped for coming into the off season. But there are other things. We are not positioned for landing an elite defender at the wing. Those guys are expensive. The Celtic’s turned down an offer from the Raptors for the number 9 pick, another 1st round pick and a swap for Derek White. Everyone in the league wants elite two way guys. By the way Wiggins has never been considered an elite defender. He has never made the 1st, 2nd or 3rd team all NBA defensive team. He considered a good defender. Not so much on 2’s, 4’s and 5’s but decent against small forwards. Vando is a much better perimeter defender then him. If we can get a little offense from him, he would be superior to Wiggins. Also Rui is better than both 4’s and 5’s than either Vando or Wiggins. He actually had a better defensive rating then DFS last year. Probably one of the reasons he started over him. As for your depth chart, I don’t understand why you have Dalton that high. With the way he has been playing he might not see any non garbage time minutes. And ahead of Rui? Really? Come on Man!
Dalton’s situation is definitely concerning. Makes me think we should keep Cole Swider. I know a lot of people are going to keep talking about his lack of defense, but man, dude is a bucket getter. He was undrafted and entered the league in 2022, the same year as Max Christie. Sometimes a team needs a player who can light up the scoreboard.
Michael, you hit the nail on the head—Rob has been nothing short of masterful this offseason. Honestly, what he pulled off felt like threading a needle in a windstorm! The guy navigated tight cap space, looming uncertainties, and external pressures and still managed to elevate the roster in ways no one thought possible.
It’s like he looked at a barren landscape and planted a winning culture in it. From savvy veteran pickups to locking in the core, every move has purpose and grit. And you’re right—Luka’s influence helped, but it was Rob’s vision that steered the ship. He’s building not just a competitive team, but one that actually has the chemistry and depth to go deep.
This version of the Lakers feels like it has heart, brains, and bite. He has taken a lot of heat from some of us, but you can see his fingerprints on many, if not every piece—and they’re golden.
Simply put, he seems to find water in a well that is running so dry, so fast.
Healthy, we should compete.
I agree, health is the most important thing right now. We’ve had our share of unwinable battles against that dreadful injury bug the last couple of seasons.
These things don’t exist in a vacuum. Yes, Pelinka made improvements (with the limitations he gave himself to work with) that look good on the surface. But when you look around the conference, other teams have also stepped it up..some more than us. And OKC is only gonna be better with that title run experience in their pocket now.
I like the fact that he held onto our best tradeable assets and resisted the urge to over-reach chasing fool’s gold this season. We have a shot if everything falls perfectly…but thats probably about it.
Also..I don’t see Joker or Giannis hitting free agency; their teams will make a trade instead of just letting them walk..it’s gonna take assets to swing that.
I agree. Saving cap space is stupid. Big ticket players rarely leave in free agency anymore. You need to have some decent players and draft capital available. Besides that both the Jokers and Giannis will be 33 in 2027. Not sure trading for one of them is the best move.
I am 100% with you, @ MongoSlade, and Michael. You both made great points. Bingo!