It’s hard to believe that less than three years ago, the Lakers were celebrating a title in the bubble in Orlando. A roster built on the fly in free agency the summer prior, the Lakers looked to have struck gold.
But after a failed 2020-21 season, the Lakers seemingly panicked in the offseason and broke the core of the title-winning team up for Russell Westbrook. As Lakers fans have experienced firsthand, it didn’t work and it wasn’t until this February before that mistake was corrected.
Vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka is fully aware of how things played out.