The sports world screeched to a halt when the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak forced the shutdown of leagues everywhere.
It has been more than a month since the NBA decided to suspend the 2019-20 season and there are still no clear answers on whether or not the league can plausibly resume it.
Despite the circumstances, front offices still have jobs to do and Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka discussed what he has been up to, via Lakers:
“It’s interesting. I think first and foremost, all of us start our day with thoughts and prayers for all the people that are affected by COVID-19. But then, much like the rest of the world and the rest of our country, we do have to figure out a path forward which includes our work and our jobs. And as we’ve always said, the Lakers Nation and Lakers fans inspire us to do great things and we’re continuing to hope that we get a chance to finish this season. To do that, we have to stay connected, we have to stay together, there’s a lot of talk with the players, of course, over text and Zoom and Coach Vogel and I talk and the coaching staff talks. I know they’re continuing to study game film and tapes from games this year.”
Pelinka also touched on the 2020 NBA Draft and free agency:
“And then we have to also think about preparation for June and July and what the draft and free agency brings. So there’s lot of interactions and study around players that were playing in college or overseas and then thinking forward to free agency for what would happen after the season. And I don’t say that thinking that this season won’t finish, I just say that that all of us are forward looking and always planning for the future. So that work does continue and we have an obligation to Lakers fan to continue on a pathway of excellence.”
In a typical regular season, the coaching staff is beginning to look more into playoff matchups while the front office is tackling draft preparation, so it is good to see Los Angeles still operating as if things were normal. However, there are questions when these events are going to happen, so there will likely be more preparation time than usual.
Either way, there is not much anyone can do until the coronavirus pandemic begins to settle down and things return in full.