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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.

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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.

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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.