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Lakers Give GM Rob Pelinka Contract Extension, Major Title Bump Ahead of Playoffs
Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and his Dallas Mavericks counterpart Nico Harrison changed the trajectory of the NBA with the late-night trade of Luka Doncic in February. Now, Pelinka—the largely agreed-upon winner of the deal—has cashed in on the success of the transaction.
Pelinka has been named the Lakers' president of basketball operations as part of a contract extension, ESPN's Shams Charania reports. With the addition of the 25-year-old Doncic, Los Angeles appears to have secured its long-term future whenever LeBron James opts to retire. With Pelinka and coach JJ Redick locked in, Charania says that the franchise has solid alignment for the next decade.
Pelinka hired Redick as the Lakers new coach last offseason, and made the signature Luka Doncic acquisition in February. The Lakers are set up with a face of the franchise for the next 10 years, flexibility and assets this upcoming offseason, and organizational alignment. https://t.co/wweNEycFUx
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 18, 2025
Pelinka, a former high-level basketball agent before joining the Lakers front office as general manager in 2017, was promoted to vice president of basketball operations in Jan. 2020, ahead of the team's NBA Finals win that fall in the bubble playoffs.
Los Angeles finished 50–32 and in third place in the Western Conference. They were 28–19 and fifth in the Western Conference at the time of the Doncic deal. L.A. earned the seven-seed out of the play-in tournament in three of the four years since the 2020 NBA title, missing the playoffs entirely in '22.
The Lakers open their first-round playoff series with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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Dan Lyons is a staff writer and editor on Sports Illustrated's Breaking and Trending News team. He joined SI for his second stint in November 2024 after a stint as a senior college football writer at Athlon Sports, and a previous run with SI spanning multiple years as a writer and editor. Outside of sports, you can find Dan at an indie concert venue or movie theater.