The Los Angeles Lakers have seemingly done the impossible, reaching the Western Conference Finals after starting the season 2-10.
A big reason for that was the moves the Lakers made at the trade deadline as general manager Rob Pelinka was able to completely revamp the roster, bringing in the likes of D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, Rui Hachimura and Mo Bamba.
Even though they didn’t have much experience playing together, the Lakers immediately gelled and built a chemistry, which led them moving up from 13th in the Western Conference to seventh, making the playoffs after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Play-In Tournament.
The Lakers have continued to click in the playoffs, first beating the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies and then beating the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
After the Game 6 closeout win, Pelinka showed respect to the Warriors while also discussing how the Lakers got to this point after starting the season 2-10, via Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet:
“It’s amazing. The Warriors are a classy organization, obviously the defending champs so want to give them respect for a great series. They have incredible players. But I think the early-season trials have really built our strength and fortitude as a group. I think it in some ways brought us together. We obviously added new players but they just felt the togetherness and competitive nature of this team.”
Pelinka also talked about the moves he made at the deadline, addressing a variety of needs to turn the Lakers into legit championship contenders:
“I think that’s the important thing is sometimes you try to make a move and if it doesn’t work, you job is to fix it and we’re always evaluating that. We felt like we wanted to address some things at the trade deadline, in particular our wing size and playmaking and shooting. Usually at the deadline you can check one box or kind of address one need, and we were able to do all of that. I think it shows in how this team is playing and how we’re winning at a high level and we’re just grateful for the hard work that everybody helped pull those trades off.”
Even though Pelinka was a big reason for the Lakers’ rough start due to his poor roster construction, he made up for it at the deadline and now the Lakers are in prime position to win another championship.
The job is far from finished, however, as they will now face a tough Denver Nuggets team in the Western Conference Finals.
Pelinka finishes 11th in Executive of the Year voting
Pelinka had arguably one of the greatest trade deadlines for a general manager in NBA history, but that wasn’t recognized across the league as he still finished 11th in the Executive of the Year voting.
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