The Los Angeles Lakers made big news Tuesday morning, as they announced that Magic Johnson is taking over the role of president of basketball operations, and Jim Buss (executive vice president of basketball operations) and Mitch Kupchak (general manager) have both been relieved of their duties.
The timing of the move came at an interesting time as the trade deadline is just two days away and the Lakers have said to be active in trade talks.
With there now being voids in the front office, Lakers President Jeanie Buss said the search to find replacements will begin immediately.
The first candidate that the Lakers may be looking at have come out, as according to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report, there are strong indications that sports agent Rob Pelinka will be the team’s next general manager:
Nothing concrete, but I'm hearing strong indications Rob Pelinka, Kobe's longtime agent, will be the Lakers' next general manager.
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) February 21, 2017
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical also confirmed that Pelinka, who is the agent of Laker great Kobe Bryant, is the front runner for the job:
Agent Rob Pelinka has emerged as a front-runner to become Lakers GM under Magic Johnson, sources tell @TheVertical. Reps Harden, Kobe.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) February 21, 2017
In addition to representing Bryant, Pelinka has also represents James Harden, Eric Gordon, Andre Drummond, and former Lakers Chris Kaman, Wesley Johnson and Ed Davis, among many others. Since Pelinka represents so many NBA players, him becoming the Lakers general manager would not be that easy as he would have to give up all of those clients:
For the Lakers to hire Pelinka — or any agent — he'd have to divest from his representation business. That process can't happen overnight.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) February 21, 2017
While he does not have any experience in an NBA front office, his job as a sports agent requires him to work closely with NBA front offices daily. He also played basketball at the collegiate level at Michigan from 1988-93.
With the trade deadline upcoming, it is likely that the Lakers will move fast on finding a replacement for Kupchak. Other candidates that have been mentioned for the general manager position are agent Art Tellem, Indiana Pacers vice president of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie and Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard.