Lakers GM Rob Pelinka: It would be ‘great' if LeBron finishes career with team

New York Times

3 days ago

Speaking to the media for the first time this offseason, Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said it would be 'great' if LeBron James were able to finish his career with the Lakers.
'In terms of LeBron's career, I think the number one thing we have to do there is respect he and his family's decision in terms of how long he's going to play. I think that's first and foremost,' Pelinka said. 'And we want to respect his ability to come up with his timetable on that.'
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Pelinka spoke to the media Saturday during a news conference celebrating Luka Dončić's three-year contract extension with the franchise.
James is entering the final year of his contract with the Lakers, a deal he opted into at the end of June. After opting in, James' agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, issued a statement that some interpreted as a sign of unhappiness.
'LeBron knows the Lakers are building for the future, and he also wants to compete for championships,' Paul told The Athletic in June. 'We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what's best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what's best for him. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we've had for eight years with Jeanie (Buss) and Rob (Pelinka) and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.'
James has not asked for a trade or a contract buyout, team and league sources have said. He'll turn 41 on Dec. 30.
While the Lakers have avoided using future draft capital this summer, the team added former first-round picks Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia in free agency, with only LaRavia eating into the team's cap space next summer.
'Yeah, so all the interactions we've had with LeBron and his camp, Rich (Paul) in particular, have been positive and supportive. So very professional and Rich has been great,' Pelinka said. 'The dialogue with him has been open and constant.'
The Lakers, according to team sources, have prioritized flexibility as they try to build the best team around Dončić. Saturday, Pelinka co-signed that strategy, saying the team is in the best position it could be.
'Make no mistakes, we're in 'win championship now' mode always. But I think I don't want to bore people with apron talk. I think the basketball public has enough of that. But in the new system that we're in, having optionality is key to building teams. We have seen some teams get stuck in the aprons, and once you're in them, it's hard to get out of them. We've been very intentional with keeping our optionality to make now moves if there are good now moves to make or to have our flexibility in the future. But I say all that, that the optionality is there for us to use now if the right comes its way. We want to make smart moves. But to be in a position of flexibility versus being stuck is really promising for how we're going to build this team moving forward.'