As if the rest of the past week hasn’t been negative enough, the latest batch of news about the Los Angeles Lakers search for a new executive, or lack thereof, should be alarming.
Multiple sources, both The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Marc Stein of the New York Times, have indicated that Rob Pelinka has earned more power in the vacuum left by Magic Johnson’s departure.
And even after Johnson’s departure, Amick said on an episode of the ‘Tampering’ podcast, owner Jeanie Buss never even bothered to call the top executive on the market: former Cavs general manager and newly named Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin.
As for Stein’s view on things, he too says ‘signs’ are pointing to Pelinka holding on to more power and running the team’s basketball operations. As I highlighted yesterday, the signs out there before these latest reports indicated that Pelinka would get more power.
However, Amick’s revelation that Buss never so much as made an attempt to hire an experienced basketball executive is alarming. Perhaps Buss avoided Griffin due to too many easily seen connections to LeBron, but wouldn’t that be the smartest thing to do considering that he’s their best player and entering the final years of his storied career?
The answer from Buss, at least right now, is no. The perception of having power, even though the league has already usurped it from you, appears to be a lot more alluring to Jeanie Buss than doing the work necessary, and hiring the necessary people, to take it back.
