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Rob Pelinka

Three Imminent Deadlines Where Lakers Face Challenging Decisions

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The Los Angeles Lakers face three imminent deadlines where they’ll face challenging decisions about their roster makeup that could determine whether they’ll be a play-in team or legitimate championship contender.

The first of the three deadlines facing the Lakers is November 18, when LeBron James will likely make his season debut at home vs. the Jazz and coach Redick must decide who starts alongside Luka, Austin, and LeBron. The second deadline facing the Lakers is December 15, when recently traded or signed players can be traded and the team will have played the 20 to 25 games Rob Pelinka said was necessary to determine what they need.

The third and final deadline facing the Lakers is February 4, the last day teams can officially trade players and finalize exactly how much open cap space and matching salary they will be projected to have next summer.
The Lakers need to make a major consolidation trade before the deadline. Excluding Doncic and Reaves, the Lakers currently have $96.7M in expiring contracts but only $17.4M in contracts which could be traded next summer.

The Lakers have too many non-LeBron expiring contracts and too few contracts that can be traded with their three picks next summer. They need to trade some expiring contracts for contracts they can trade next summer.
Unless Giannis and Joker demand a trade, the Lakers will likely opt to trade most of their expiring contracts other than LeBron for depth, defense, and shooting while allowing some contracts to expire to create cap space.

Let’s look at the deadlines where the Lakers face challenging decisions: November 18, 2025: ‘When LeBron James returns’, December 15, 2025: ‘When 23-Game Trial Ends’, and February 4, 2026: ‘NBA trade deadline.’

1. November 18, 2025: ‘When LeBron Returns’

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November 18 is when LeBron James is projected to make his season debut at home against the Jazz and when JJ Redick will be forced to decide who will be the Lakers’ fifth starter alongside Doncic, James, Reaves, and Ayton.

Without LeBron James, the Lakers have settled on a starting lineup of Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, and Deandre Ayton. LeBron James will thus replace either Rui Hachimura or Marcus Smart.
Whom Redick chooses to start between Hachimura and Smart will give us a good sense of how the young coach is growing. Does he opt to go big with Rui Hachimura’s elite offense or small with Marcus Smart’s fierce defense?

What makes choosing between Hachimura and Smart a touch decision for JJ is the best version of these Lakers once everybody is healthy and they pull off a needed consolidation trade is most likely the ‘big’ version.
But right now, the eye test and numbers say JJ Redick should go small and start Marcus Smart with his elite defense and turn Rui Hachimura into the Lakers’ 6th-of-the-year candidate and instant scorer off the bench.

The Lakers’ starters have struggled defensively to stop penetration and protect the rim while their bench has struggled offensively to score, averaging a league low 24.2 points per game. The solution is obvious.
The starters need Marcus Smart, who’s #1 in defensive rating, #2 in plus/minus, and #3 in net rating while the bench needs Rui Hachimura, who’s #3 in made 3’s, #3 in field goal percentage, and #4 in points per game.

On November 18 when LeBron James returns, Lakers’ coach JJ Redick should continue to start Marcus Smart for leadership and defense while moving Rui Hachimura to the bench for more offensive firepower.

2. December 15, 2025: ‘When 23-Game Trial Ends’

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December 15 is when recently traded or signed players can be traded and when the 20 to 25 game trial period Pelinka set before the season will end. It’s also when Rob Pelinka said the Lakers should be ready to make a trade.

The return of James (as well as Kleber, Thiero, and soon Vincent) should empower the Lakers to continue winning on their current ‘60-win’ pace without having to overly rely upon their special ‘next-man-up’ magic.
While the Lakers still have 9 games remaining before December 15, their needs haven’t changed. They still need an elite 3&D point-of-attack starting small forward with size and defense-first backup center to protect the rim.

Up to now, the 10–4 Lakers have been dramatically overachieving, posting the 4th best record in the West and 5th best in the league but with just 16th best offensive rating, 14th best defensive rating, and 16th best net rating.
While the big win over the Bucks to end the road trip helped restore the team’s innate confidence in itself, the underlying stats confirm the Lakers still need a blockbuster trade to be a legitimate championship contender.

The Los Angeles Lakers have to be extremely happy with where the team is right now. Both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have elevated their games and cemented themselves as the purple and gold backcourt of the future.
With the team finally nearing full health and firmly positioned as a top-5 team in the league, the Lakers may not need to make an immediate trade on December 15 and could even wait until February 4, 2026 trade deadline.

On December 15 when most players can be traded and Rob’s 20 to 25 game trial period ends, Rob Pelinka should start pursuing a 3-for-1 or 4-for-2 blockbuster consolidation trade to position the Lakers for the stretch run.

3. February 4, 2026: ‘NBA Trade Deadline

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February 4 is the last day Rob Pelinka can officially make consolidation trades for an elite 3&D starting small forward and shot blocking backup center and finalize cap space and matching salary for next summer.

Frankly, the Lakers are in an envious position right now because they have miraculously survived a dangerous early injury and schedule nightmare to suddenly emerge healthy and hungry as the 5th best team in the league.
As long as LA continues on this current ‘60-win’ pace, Pelinka can sit back and focus on finding best deal for the starting small forward and backup center they need. For a change, Rob’s ‘best’ strategy could be to wait.

For one thing, the question that only games and wins can answer is how good could the Lakers be without any changes but with everybody healthy? The 33 games we will play before February 4 could answer that question.
A starting lineup of Doncic, Reaves, James, Ayton, and Smart could be an offensive juggernaut while Vincent, Thiero/Vanderbilt, LaRavia/Knecht, Hachimura, and Hayes/Kleber could be a dynamic bench mob if healthy.

Bottom line, while great early play by Luka, Austin, and the Lakers has raised their floor and ceiling as a team, it does not change their strong need for an elite starting small forward and shot blocking backup center to win.
The Lakers may lack the draft capital to trade for both a starting small forward like Wiggins or Brooks and a shot blocking center like Gafford or Williams. but they need to fill at least one of their holes at the deadline

On February 6, the NBA trade deadline, Rob Pelinka needs to make sure to fill at least one of the Lakers’ need for an elite 3&D starting small forward or backup shot blocking center and clean up the team’s cap for next season.

5 Things: The Reality of My Surroundings

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The 5 game road trip is proving to be quite the bulwark for over-hyped, too-early expectations for the Lakers this season. Whether it be a “didn’t show up with the right effort” game against the injury-ravaged Hawks or a “contender vs. pretender” showdown against the Thunder, the Lakers now have a laundry list of improvements and changes to make. Sometimes you need a reality check to help you grow, this 5 gamer can hopefully be that early season checkpoint.

  1. Defense. We’ve come to the point where the warts and beauty marks have all had a chance to reveal themselves. 11 games in is still the realm of “very correctable issues” but it’s also the point where habits become narrative, good and bad, The lakers currently sit 22nd in the NBA in Defensive Rating at 117.3 (that would be the number of points allowed per 100 possessions). Contrast that with the Thunder who lead the league at 104.4 and the issues of where are team is versus where they want to be start to crystalize. Some of it is still guys finding a level of trust, getting everyone “on a string” doesn’t happen overnight, or in the abridged version of modern training camp or even over the first month or so. That kind of defensive skill and execution comes from a team-wide buy-in, having the right schemes for the right guys, and having the right guys. I’m still parsing whether the Lakers are running a garbage defense, have the wrong players, or are still finding a comfort zone with one another. Likely a little of all of it.
  2. Turnovers. The Lakers are also on the wrong end of being a top-five team in terms of turning the ball over sitting pretty at 25th (15.9/game). This is especially concerning when Smart (2.4) Reaves (3.3) and Luka (3.9) account for over half of those/game at 9.8 TOs/game to 20.6 assists. It’s not so much the ratio that concerns me but that the majority of errors come from our 3 best distributors. Too many home run passes instead of just moving it to the closest, easiest open man. Too many batched lobs, and just silly dribbling into the defense when there’s no seam to exploit. Again, this is hard to pinpoint on if the issue is the players tuning out what the coaches want, just not executing a good plan, or not much of a plan other than “run a screen action here or there and hope”. Likely a little of all of it and we’re not great at getting back and stopping a score as we’re 9th in allowing points off of turnovers giving up 1,403 points off of 202 turnovers which I believe comes out to about 1.4 points/possession. We score 1.16 points per possession (middle of the back) and the Nuggets and Rockets lead the league at 1.25. A Laker turnover is one of the best scoring chances a team can have.
  3. Ayton starting to show his issues. This road trip has not been kind to DeAndre. He’s either not getting the ball enough (only 5 FGA’s last night and in Atlanta, a trend in losses so far) or the kind of shots they set up for him aren’t really his shots. Ayton will forever be a guy who wants to stop and make a move. He’s not leaping to the rim with gusto a la Jaxson Hayes and he’s not an offensive fulcrum like Jokic or Embiid. He’s a light version of all of that because he has range, makes the pass if one is available and has a light touch in and around the basket. He’s getting outplayed by guys who are just out-working him which needs to change. He also is a liability when the other team goes small. Something LeBron’s return will hopefully help correct. In general, we need to set him up for success in ways that better align with his true skill set and roll the dice. Forever forcing thew lob into him isn’t working very well.
  4. LeBron working out with South Bay, practicing with the team. I sure hope LeBron makes his season debut when we get back home, we need him in small ball line ups at the 5 and we need him to better balance the playmaking. All signs point to him ramping it up so here’s hoping we have no set backs.
  5. Oh yeah, Nico (finally) got canned. There’s a world where we still have AD, maybe he’s hurt again and maybe not. Let’s assume he doesn’t detach his retina in practice against us but, in general, counting on him was always the biggest issue. For his folly, Nico Harrison lost his job. There’s no world where the mid-30’s version of AD will ever be better than entering his prime Luka. For all the issues facing the Lakers our problems are simple when compared to Dallas. So, one last time, thanks Nico. You made Rob look competent for once.

Lakers Make Godfather Offer For Walker Kessler Jazz Cannot Refuse

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The Lakers make the Jazz a Godfather offer that includes Austin Reaves, Dalton Knecht, and their 2027 and 2031 unprotected first round picks for Walker Kessler, Jordan Clarkson, and Utah two second round picks.

The Jazz have refused to consider trading Walker Kessler unless they get an offer they can’t refuse. Because of his age, size, salary, and skillset, Kessler is clearly the Lakers’ best option to be their starting center of the future. Utah reportedly wants a minimum of two picks for Kessler. The Lakers’ offer arguably is equal to four picks since the Jazz could easily flip Reaves and Knecht for two more first round picks to go with Lakers’ 2027 and 2031.

We saw the Orlando Magic use the exact same strategy of making a Godfather offer to the Memphis Grizzlies to turn Desmond Band from untouchable to tradable. That is exactly what the Lakers need to do.
Identify the one player who’s critical for your next season. For the Lakers, that player is 23-year old Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler, who averaged 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks in 30.0 minutes per game.

While the Lakers also need to upgrade their perimeter defense against guards and wings, their top priority was to trade for a dynamic young starting center to fix their rim protection and rebounding problems.
There is no other available starting center other than Kessler for whom the Lakers would consider including Austin Reaves and there is probably no way Austin and Danny Ainge would trade Kessler without getting Reaves.

The Lakers cannot start another NBA season without a legitimate starting center. Nothing is more important for L.A. this summer than trading for the ‘right’ center. Winning the offseason starts with Walker Kessler.

WHY GO ALL-IN ON WALKER KESSLER?

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Walker Kessler is not only the ‘right’ player for the Lakers to risk going all-in on and offering Austin Reaves, Dalton Knecht, and two first round picks but his low salary also leaves room to trade for two other new starters.

Even with Austin Reaves, Dalton Knecht, one first round pick, and four pick swaps, the Lakers simply don’t have enough tradable contracts and/or draft capital to swap for three new starters unless one’s on a rookie deal.
Aside from playing the center, Walker Kessler is still on his rookie contract, which means the Lakers would still have enough room under the first tax apron to trade for two new starters earning around $25 million per year.

While the Lakers would like to keep Reaves, they also understand that he’s likely the key trading chip to get the Ainges to agree to trade Walker Kessler to the Lakers at all. Reaves can be flipped for more than a first round pick.
And Walker Kessler is clearly the best fit as starting center available to the Lakers right now. His elite size, rim protection, lob threat, and rebounding will quickly help them dramatically improve at both ends of the court.

The Lakers cannot open the 2025–26 season without a legitimate starting center, not after failing to fix their center rotation the last four years and having their asses handed to them by the Timberwolves in the playoffs.
With LeBron eligible to become a free agent this summer and Luka slated to do the same next summer, Rob Pelinka is facing extreme pressure to find both legitimate starting and backup centers before the season starts.

Trading Austin Reaves, Dalton Knecht, and two first round picks for Walker Kessler is the Los Angeles Lakers going all-in to start Luka’s purple and gold era and end LeBron’s with their Celtics-matching 18th NBA championship.

TRADE FOR TWO CHAMPIONSHIP DEFENDERS

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Once the Walker Kessler trade is complete, the Lakers will still have $50 million in matching salaries and four first round pick swaps to use to trade for former championship defenders Andrew Wiggins and Marcus Smart.

To compete for the NBA championship, the Lakers must surround their two superstars Luka Doncic and LeBron James with three elite starters who are legitimate two-way players who can’t be played off the floor in the playoffs.
That means the Lakers need to replace Jaxson Hayes with a starting center who can defend the rim, Rui Hachimura with a starting small forward who can defend wings, and Austin Reaves with an alpha dog 3&D POA defender.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ proposed trade for Andrew Wiggins would send Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber, and their 2026 and 2030 unprotected first round pick swaps to the Miami Heat for Andrew Wiggins.
Wiggins won an NBA championship ring with the Warriors in 2022 and would be a perfect fit on Lakers as starting small forward. Besides shooting 37.4% on 5.8 threes per game, Wiggins remains an elite wing defender.

The other proven championship caliber perimeter defender the Lakers should trade for is Marcus Smart, who’s now stuck on the rebuilding Wizards and could be acquired for Hachimura, Milton, and a pick swap.
Marcus has struggled with injuries since being traded and needs to be on a contending team where his great heart, hustle, and elite defense matters. Smart still posted 9.0/2.1/3.2 with 1.1 steals in just 20.0 minutes per game.

Besides the mega trade for rim protecting center Walker Kessler, the Lakers transform their starting lineup into a defensive juggernaut by trading for defense-first two-way wing Andrew Wiggins and guard Marcus Smart.

In Less Than Year, Lakers Land New Coach, New Superstar, & New Owner

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In less than a year, the Lakers pulled off an extreme franchise makeover, adding a new head coach of the future in JJ Redick, a new superstar of the future in Luka Doncic, and a new owner of the future in Mark Walter.

The Lakers extreme new makeover started one year ago next Tuesday when the team hired JJ Redick to be their head coach of the future. We didn’t know it then but that was Jeanie’s first public transition move. Jeanie’s true first transition move came back in 2021 when Mark Walter purchased Philip Anschutz’s 26% minority share of the Lakers and was awarded first right of refusal should the Busses decide to sell the team.

What’s obvious in retrospect is Jeanie Buss has just given the professional sports industry a master class in how an owner of a legacy franchise like the Lakers should handle the sale of the team to a new ownership group.
Jeanie Buss choreographed the hiring of JJ Redick as the team’s head coach of the future, the blockbuster trade for Luka Doncic to be their superstar of the future, and now the sale to Mark Walter, their new owner of the future.

Jeanie Buss negotiated the sale of the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 billion. That’s $4 billion more than was paid for the Boston Celtics a few months ago, making it the biggest sales price in history for a pro sports franchise.
More importantly, Jeanie leaves the Lakers with a dynamic new young head coach, a elite new young top-3 megastar point guard, and a proven new young owner committed to building teams and winning the right way.

As the NBA undergoes a chaotic changing of the guard with new teams and superstar vying to take over the league, Jeanie Buss has done a masterful job as trustee of the Lakers in choreographing the franchise’s transition.

What New Owner Means for Rob Pelinka & JJ Redick?

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While Jeanie is staying as governor during the transition, the days of running the Lakers like a small-time family business on a shoestring are over and Pelinka and Redick will be held accountable for their jobs.

Using the Dodgers’ turnaround since being bought by TWG Global as a guide, Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick can expect to be given a fair opportunity and every possible tool or benefit to help them best perform their jobs.
Mark Walter has been a minority partner since 2021 so he’s been intimately involved in all the Lakers have been doing, which is why he is comfortable with Jeanie Buss remaining as the team’s governor during the transition.

But Walter clearly plans to follow the same blueprint he used to rebuild the entire Dodgers’ organization, which means Pelinka and Redick will finally be held accountable to a championship standard for their performances.
While Walter won’t be able to buy an NBA championship by overpaying players, he will certainly pour finances and resources into every aspect of running the Lakers from player development to analytics to training.

Rob Pelinka will be under heavy scrutiny and will likely see his front office team dramatically expanded. There won’t be any excuses accepted if the Lakers start the NBA season without a legitimate starting quality center.
Same for JJ Redick. He may be a rookie coach but he will be given every opportunity to show he has the chops to become a great NBA coach. In the end, JJ needs to grow up, develop quickly, and, most importantly, win.

Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick will enter the 2025–26 NBA season secure in their positions but also clearly aware that they would be held to very high performance standards, for which they will be personally accountable.

What New Owner Means for LeBron James & Austin Reaves

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On the surface, one of the reasons Mark Walter wants Jeanie Buss to remain governor during the transition is to insure that the team continues the strong personal relationships with LeBron James and Austin Reaves.

Since Walter is already a minority owner, he’s likely up-to-date on what the Lakers are planning with respect to LeBron James and his player option and with respect to Austin Reaves and the continuing trade rumors.
Could the sale to Walter motivate LeBron James to play for more than just one more season? Could Walter veto Reaves untouchable status and use him to make an offer to Utah for Walker Kessler the Jazz cannot refuse?

While having a rich owner still won’t allow you to exceed the second apron, expect Mark Walter to dramatically raise the bar on what is acceptable to be a Lakers player. Count on better scouting, analytics, and development.
What you won’t see is a Lakers team where critical roster needs like a shot blocking center to protect the rim gets kicked down the road and ignored for multiple seasons. Accountability is how you win championships.

How the Lakers address the LeBron situation will be interesting. Do they want LeBron to play more seasons or would they prefer that next season be his farewell tour season so they can plan how to move on from the King?
Could the Lakers decide the smart move was to trade Austin Reaves now in an attempt to get Walker Kessler or move him to the bench to open up a starting role for a defense-first point-of-attack defender like Marcus Smart.

Mark Walter will probably allow Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick to proceed with their previously planned strategy this summer but if the Lakers are not playing championship basketball, expect major changes at the deadline.

Lakers Face ‘Must Win’ Summer As NBA Undergoes Changing of Guard

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Just promoted to President of Basketball Operations for the Lakers, Rob Pelinka is already facing a franchise threatening ‘Must Win’ offseason while the NBA itself is undergoing a chaotic generational changing of the guard.

How Rob Pelinka navigates this challenge will greatly determine whether the Lakers remain among the teams who are perennial contenders for the NBA championship or slowly fade away as parity levels the playing field. Winning this offseason is going to be a difficult challenge for Pelinka because the Lakers’ major roster needs could be greater than the trading chips the team is able or willing to put on the table for major upgrades.

The main hope for Lakers exceptionalism to triumph is the heavy pressure on the Lakers from superstars LeBron James and Luka Doncic to upgrade the team’s starting lineup and 9 or 10-rotation to championship caliber.
While highly unlikely, LeBron James could decline his player option and become an unrestricted free agent and Luka Doncic could refuse to sign an extension and opt to become an unrestricted free agent after next season.

Pelinka has already said the Lakers will look much different next season and promises to be aggressive in bringing in multiple centers. The problem is everybody knows the Lakers need centers and prices will be very high.
Rob has always been a GM who focuses on getting the best deal as opposed to getting the best player. The Lakers are now facing a challenging situation where settling for second, third, or fourth best is not the smartest strategy.

Let’s take a closer look at what a ‘winning offseason’ for the Lakers this summer would look like and exactly what qualifies it as ‘winning’ as well as what a ‘losing offseason’ would look like and what dooms it as ‘losing.’

WHAT WOULD ‘WINNING OFFSEASON’ FOR LAKERS LOOK LIKE?

THIS IS WHAT WINNING LAKERS OFFSEASON WOULD LOOK LIKE

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A winning offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers would surround Luka and LeBron with an elite new trio of two-way starters like Kessler, White, and Wiggins; Allen, Ellis, and Brown; or Porzingis, Ball, and Alexander-Walker.

The above photo shows three possible trios of new star role players to start alongside superstars Luka Doncic and LeBron James, including a new starting center, new starting two guard, and new starting small forward.
There are countless other combinations of elite role players who could be stars in their roles alongside Luka and LeBron. Pelinka’s job is to trade for the ‘right’ players would comprise a championship caliber starting lineup.

The Lakers’ best trade arsenal would include 2 potential future stars in Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht, their unprotected 2031 first round draft pick, 4 first round pick swaps, and up to $60 million in expiring contracts.
The Lakers need a starting center who can protect the rim and be a vertical lob threat, a starting shooting guard who can shoot the three and shut down other guards, and a 3&D small forward who defend bigger wings.

Rob Pelinka’s and the Lakers’ challenge this summer is to put together multiple blockbuster trades to dramatically upgrade the three role players who will be starting alongside superstars Luka Doncic and LeBron James. That means replacing Austin Reaves with a legitimate 3&D point-of-attack defender, Rui Hachimura with a two-way small forward who can defend wings, and Jaxson Hayes with a defensive center who can protect the rim.

A ‘winning offseason’ for the Los Angeles Lakers would look like L.A. acquiring three new championship caliber starters to replace center Jaxson Hayes, small forward Rui Hachimura, and shooting guard Austin Reaves.

WHAT WOULD ‘LOSING OFFSEASON’ FOR LAKERS LOOK LIKE?

THIS IS WHAT LOSING LAKERS OFFSEASON WOULD LOOK LIKE

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A losing offseason for the Lakers would be one where they settled for a serviceable trios of new starters such as Capella, James Jr, and Ingram; Ayton, Caldwell-Pope, and Collins; or Bitadze, Schroder, and Oubre.

The above photo shows three possible trios of serviceable new role players to start next to superstars Luka Doncic and LeBron James, including a new starting center, new starting two guard, and new starting small forward.
The problem is the resulting starting lineups, while big improvements over last season’s starters, are simply not championship caliber starting lineups. They settle for less than the best for all three of their new starting players.

The harsh reality is the Lakers will need far better players than these three trios of role players if they want to seriously compete for a championship next season as rising teams like the Thunder and Pacers get even better.
The NBA is undergoing a chaotic generational changing of the guard with new teams and stars emerging and taking over for legacy franchises like the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, and Bucks. The times they are a-changing.

If the Lakers, for whatever reason, can’t or won’t go all-in and replace all three current starters with major upgrades, they need to acquire at least one or two championship caliber starters to have a successful offseason.
#1 priority is trading for championship caliber starting center to replace Hayes. #2 priority is trading for championship caliber starting small forward to replace Hachimura. Replacing Reaves would be #3 priority.

A ‘losing offseason’ for the Los Angeles Laker would look like L.A. settling for three new hopefully serviceable starters to replace center Jaxson Hayes, small forward Rui Hachimura, and shooting guard Austin Reaves.