By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Heading into a brand new season with a new head coach, the Los Angeles Lakers committed to re-upping vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka.
Pelinka, 52, is set to sign a contract extension, valid until the conclusion of the 2025-26 season. The news was reported by Yahoo Sports and later confirmed by multiple outlets based in the USA.
A former college player for Michigan, he went from the NCAA directly to a career as an agent and represented Kobe Bryant. Switching to an executive career, he was hired by the Lakers as the new GM in 2017. Three years later, he was promoted to VP, while also maintaining his role as GM. Early front-office ventures include acquiring LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Lakers fired Frank Vogel after the second straight disappointing season, on the heels of winning the NBA championship in 2020. Replacing him was Darvin Ham, the new head coach aiming to get the franchise back on track, starting from the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season. The most significant summer player additions were securing the services of Patrick Beverley via trade and picking up German floor general Dennis Schroder from the pool of free agents.
Further building the squad for the Regular Season, the Lakers recently waived Dwayne Bacon and Javante McCoy and put in Shaquille Harrison and L.J. Figueroa. Currently carrying 12 players on guaranteed contracts creates flexibility on incoming decisions regarding the players surviving the Preseason and making it to the Regular Season or even a possible trade.
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