Since winning a title, the Lakers have put on a tremendous display on how not to sustain success. As it stands, only LeBron James and Anthony Davis remain from that 2020 championship team, as even its head coach was unceremoniously removed at the end of last season. What’s interesting is for all their mistakes, an explanation could be offered, even the Russell Westbrook trade.
The top criticism one can offer about Pelinka’s tenure, though, is that all of the explanations only really make sense when the moves are isolated from each other. Basketball doesn’t work like that, and even as those mistakes have gone about as poorly as they could, Pelinka still can’t help himself but focus solely on talent and not at all on fit.