The Lakers have announced an extension and promotion for Rob Pelinka, who is now the team’s president of basketball operations as well as general manager, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
“For eight seasons, I have relied on Rob’s vision and leadership to do what’s best for the Lakers organization,” team governor Jeanie Buss said. “I value his partnership and professionalism and believe in his ability to deliver championship-caliber basketball for Los Angeles and Lakers fans everywhere.”
The Lakers hired Pelinka as general manager in 2017 and gave him the title of vice president of basketball operations in 2020.
He has delivered one championship during his tenure and may have the team in position to win more after acquiring Luka Doncic from Dallas in the season’s biggest deal. The addition of Doncic sparked L.A. to a 50-32 record and the third seed in the Western Conference.
Pelinka was also responsible for bringing LeBron James to Los Angeles during the summer of 2018. That gave the Lakers a star to build around after Kobe Bryant‘s retirement two years earlier and has made them a perennial playoff team.
In addition, Pelinka engineered a blockbuster deal in 2019 that brought Anthony Davis to the Lakers. Although Davis was later sent to Dallas in exchange for Doncic, the move showed that Pelinka wasn’t afraid to gamble to add star power to his team.
Pelinka, 55, won an NCAA title as a player with Michigan in 1989. He served as an agent, representing several prominent NBA stars, before getting hired by the Lakers.