“It’s a hell of a job Rob Pelinka’s got in front him, luckily he’s about the worst guy for it” - Nick Wright says he can’t believe the LA Lakers kept Pelinka, says he likes the Darvin Ham hiring
With the hiring of Darvin Ham as the LA Lakers' new head coach, a significant part of the offseason is over. But FS1's Nick Wright believes general manager Rob Pelinka has more to do but is the wrong person for the task.
As rumors swirl around the Lakers and starting point guard Russell Westbrook, Pelinka is in the spotlight for managing the situation.
While Pelinka and the front office drew praise for hiring Ham, Wright believes the decision will be meaningless without something happening to Westbrook.
During a recent segment on "What's Wright with Nick Wright," the analyst spoke about how important it is to fix last offseason's Westbrook trade this summer.
"All of that is nice, (but) none of it really matters for the Lakers if they don't find a trade partner for Westbrook," Wright said. "I know you were excited about Russ going to the Lakers. It was a total disaster. It couldn't have gone any worse.
"I like the Ham hire, however, that is 25% of the job this summer; 55% of the job this summer is finding a trade partner for Westbrook."
Wright believes that most of Pelinka's job this offseason is to trade Westbrook, but recent reports indicate the situation will not go Wright's way.
Woj said a lot of the Lakers’ interview process was about “how can you get the best out of Russell Westbrook”. Woj questioned whether or not the Lakers would able to move Westbrook given his $47 million contract
Regardless of Westbrook's future with the Lakers, Pelinka still has more work to do to get the roster ready for next season.
LA Lakers GM Rob Pelinka has one other job, but Nick Wright does not think he can handle it
Due to how the past two seasons have gone for the LA Lakers, many in the fanbase are critical of general manager Rob Pelinka and the front office.
One major part of the roster that will need an overhaul is the addition of new wing players. Analyst Nick Wright does not believe Pelinka can fix the situation with Westbrook or the wing players.
"The other 30 percent is finding some athletic wings," Wright said. "It's a hell of a job Rob Pelinka's got in front of him. Luckily, he's about the worst guy for it. I can't believe they kept Pelinka."
Despite the Lakers' 2020 championship in the bubble, Nick Wright believes Pelinka should have been fired for the roster's current state.
Los Angeles has oscillated between dumb move and smart move so much under Rob Pelinka that I feel comfortable calling them a mediocre front office. Thought for sure they were going to go for the big name here.
Easily the most uncharacteristic Lakers hire of my lifetime.
While it appears Pelinka will still be the Lakers general manager for the next season, he will have plenty of work to do to satisfy Wright and the fans.