Rob Pelinka made a somewhat rare public appearance to speak at the introductory press conference for new Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic. Much of the presser was dedicated to talking about Doncic, the shocking circumstances around the trade and when he might debut in the Lakers lineup.
But Pelinka was also asked about what the team is going to do next to improve. Adding Doncic is a remarkable move for the future of the franchise, but by giving up Anthony Davis to do so, it leaves L.A. in a tricky spot this season. The team has no discernible starting center and would be towards the bottom of the league defensively as is.
Making a trade for a center before Thursday’s trade deadline seems like the obvious move. But in order to do that, the Lakers would need cooperation from another team, both to make a center available and to find the right return pieces to make a deal happen.
There have been some rumored names like Jakob Poeltl of the Toronto Raptors or Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz, but nothing seems close to materializing at this stage.
Rob Pelinka’s thoughts on center market
At the introductory press conference, Rob Pelinka was asked about what the team might do moving forward to bring a bit of balance to their current roster.
“We know that our roster has continued work to do to become complete,” Pelinka admitted. “And just to be clear around the vision for our roster, we’re going to build a roster that fits JJ Reddick’s philosophy, his basketball philosophy. That’s something that we believe in, that we support, that we want to lean into. So, in terms of roster decisions, JJ and I collaborate extensively around that and fitting how he wants to play. We know we have a need for a big the market for bigs right now leading into the last two or three days of the trade deadline is very dry. There’s just not a lot available. So maybe we’ll be able to do some stuff around the margins.
“I would say, in terms of a big move for that position, it’s probably more realistic that would be something that comes in the offseason. But Luka will be at the center of that as we build for the long term. We want to format a team that fits JJ’s coaching style and his strengths and his needs to help us win a championship with the other people that are also on our team right now who are going to be a big part of that winning as well. But your question was about long term, so I’m speaking more to long term.”
Pelinka did add though that there is urgency there to put together a roster around Doncic that can compete.
“The urgency is ever-present. From the first day I started taking this job until I sit in the chair right now, there’s always an urgency to win championships,” Pelinka said. “That’s what the Lakers set out to do. That’s the expectation of our fans, and we’re gonna put in the work to constantly try to do it. At the same time, you have to be realistic. And if there’s not a championship big on the market, I can’t wave a wand and create that opportunity. We’ll continue to work and look for areas that we can complete and fill out the roster. But as we saw with this trade, it takes two teams (to trade). But we’ll continue to build. Luka and I spent some time yesterday up in my office just talking about the players on our roster that he’s played with and kind of what he sees as sort of short-term and long-term needs. And I think we’ll continue to have those basketball discussions and get this roster to a championship level.”
Pelinka also discussed what he is looking for in a center on the trade market.
“Versatility, mobility, a vertical lob threat, I think that’s a key to the spacing that Luka likes to play. Competitive. I think that those are some of the core things there. Those players are hard to find. But we’ll accomplish the task that’s before us. We’ll find a way.”
Pelinka certainly seems aware of the issue and will try to curb it over the next two days, but is preparing fans for the reality that they may not have the ability to do anything more than a marginal improvement by Thursday.
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