EL Segundo — When the Los Angeles Lakers hired Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka to run their front office as president of basketball operations and general manager, respectively, one of the first things to two did was sit down and try to answer the question: What makes a player a Laker?
“How do we define the DNA and the makeup of the guys that get the opportunity to wear the purple and gold?” Pelinka said during an interview on ESPN’s Mason and Ireland.
Pelinka said he and Johnson spent a whole day with their sleeves rolled up, sitting around discussing what qualities imbue a player with “Laker greatness.