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Lakers' Rob Pelinka Snubbed for Executive of the Year Honor

Alex Kirschenbaum

Feb 4, 2025; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka introduces guard Luka Doncic at UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Feb 4, 2025; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka introduces guard Luka Doncic at UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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Despite pulling off the most shocking trade perhaps in league history, Los Angeles Lakers team president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka was overlooked in Executive of the Year voting this season.

In February, Pelinka flipped the 32-year-old 10-time All-Star center Anthony Davis, 3-and-D shooting guard Max Christie, and a single first-round draft pick in 2029 to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for 26-year-old five-time All-NBA guard Luka Doncic, plus center Maxi Kleber and deep-bench forward Markieff Morris.

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The Lakers also traded a second-round 2025 draft pick (via the Clippers) and former 2023 first-rounder Jalen Hood-Schifino to the Utah Jazz. The Mavericks followed suit, offloading their own 2025 second-round pick to Utah.

Per Shams Charania of ESPN, Oklahoma City Thunder team president Sam Presti was honored as the 2024-25 Executive of the Year.

Presti has constructed one of the best regular season teams in recent years. With the advent of new trade acquisitions Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso, the 68-win Thunder secured the Western Conference's No. 1 seed for the second straight season, produced two All-Stars (MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and versatile forward Jalen Williams), and have emerged as one of the league's elite teams.

Oklahoma City's future, too, is quite bright. Beyond redshirting a lottery pick this very season (Serbian point guard Nikola Topic, selected at No. 12 in last summer's 2024 NBA Draft), the Thunder boast a treasure trove of assets that could help the club contend for decades to come. Presti has a nose for talent.

From 2025 through 2031, the Thunder have nine future first round draft picks (some, acquired through trade, arrive replete with lottery protections) plus three first round pick swaps, 15 second round picks and two second round pick swaps.

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So the Presti pick is indeed understandable. But the fact that Pelinka didn't even finish among the top five in voting is outrageous. He finished sixth, per Marc Stein of The Stein Line, behind Cleveland Cavaliers president Koby Altman, Detroit Pistons president Trajan Langdon, Houston Rockets president Rafael Stone, and even L.A. Clippers president Lawrence Frank.

Is Pelinka being penalized for not completing his roster after the Doncic trade? The Lakers infamously (and, perhaps, dangerously), rescinded their trade for a starting center, Charlotte Hornets rim-roller Mark Williams, after Williams failed his physical.

The Lakers' frontcourt was subsequently helpless against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of this year's playoffs, which saw L.A. get sent packing in five games for the second straight season.

It's clear that this current Los Angeles roster isn't good enough to get the job done. If it was, the Lakers would still be alive in the ongoing playoffs, much as the Thunder are. But to only have to surrender one future draft pick directly to the team giving up a top-five player, in his absolute prime, is a total heist, and a credit to Pelinka's negotiating acumen. He deserves more credit.

More Los Angeles Lakers News:

Paul Pierce Says Lakers Need to Move on From LeBron James

LeBron James Won't Convince Luka Doncic to Stay With Lakers

Lakers' Bronny James Drops Major Hint at When LeBron James Will Retire

JJ Redick Sends Strong Message to Lakers After Minnesota Playoff Series Loss

Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves Waste No Time Taking Shots At Lakers

For the latest Los Angeles Lakers news and notes, stay glued to Los Angeles Lakers On SI.

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Alex Kirschenbaum
ALEX KIRSCHENBAUM

Basketball is Alex's favorite sport, he likes the way they dribble up and down the court.

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