Lakers News: After LA's Series Win, NBA Fans Issue Mea Culpa To Rob Pelinka
Last night, your 43-39 Los Angeles Lakers completed their first round playoff series defeat over the higher-seeded 51-31 Memphis Grizzlies by winning the sixth and final game in the matchup via an incredible eventual margin of 40, 125-85.
In the aftermath of the victory, team president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka received his flowers on social media. Midway through the year, with LA spiraling, Pelinka jettisoned three overpaid, over-the-hill veteran point guards to totally restructure the club's roster, salvaging LA's 2022-23 NBA season.
The absence of Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, and Kendrick Nunn (Thomas Bryant, some second round draft picks and one top-four-protected first round draft pick were also offloaded, but they were actually positive assets for the Lakers), plus the presence of D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura and Malik Beasley (Mo Bamba, Shaquille Harrison, and Tristan Thompson are the team's other late-season additions, though they're out the rotation) were a huge part of why LA made the playoffs at all, let alone why it won a series.
One LA fan was especially appreciative of Pelinka and Anthony Davis:
LA center Anthony Davis nabbed an efficient 16-point, 14-rebound double-double in just 28:29 while playing terrific two-way ball.
Another fan noted their enthusiasm for Pelinka's moves:
The absence of Westbrook and his onerous $47.1 million maximum salary was pointed out:
Another LA enthusiast issued a "my bad" to Pelinka, who, as you'll recall, also constructed the team around Davis and James that led them to the team's most recent title in 2020:
Pelinka surrounded Lakers stars LeBron James and Davis with roster pieces who made much more sense on the floor together.
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