Rob Pelinka indicates Lakers have been ’empowered’ to build ‘championship-caliber team’ this offseason

By Jason Simpson
Updated: June 11, 2021

Los Angeles Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka indicated recently that the team will have the green light to spend this offseason.

In an exit interview, Pelinka went into detail about the offseason plans.

“Jeanie and the ownership group has empowered the front office to do one thing and that’s to smartly build a roster to win championships,” Pelinka said during his exit interview. “That’s been the hallmark of this team since Dr. [Jerry] Buss acquired it, and continues to be today. Clearly all 30 NBA teams are confined by a salary cap, so we’ve got to be smart about how we put all the puzzle pieces together, but there is only one goal, and it’s doing it smartly to have a championship-caliber team.

“I think next year of course, hopefully with all of our fans being able to come back and be a part of the building, we owe them the work to start the process of retooling and having a championship-caliber team that can do special things next year, and that’s the driving passion and there’s alignment there between Jeanie, the front office, the coaches and our players that that will always be the goal.”

The younger Buss recently addressed the issue of the luxury tax during an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take.”

“The luxury tax is for teams that have championship aspirations, and certainly that is something where we want to keep the Lakers at the top of the conversation,” Buss said. “And once LeBron James decided to join the Lakers, the way he’s playing it doesn’t seem like he’s 36 years old, but when you have a player like LeBron James on your team, you’ve got to go for it. You’ve got to use that opportunity to win.”

The Lakers were recently eliminated from the 2021 NBA Playoffs in the first round and will look to ensure that a similar outcome doesn’t occur in the 2021-22 season.