Lakers GM Rob Pelinka reveals insight into LA’s plan on buyout market

General manager Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers surprised many around the NBA by choosing to not do anything before Thursday’s trade deadline. Many speculated that a recent series of not-so-subtle tweets and late night LeBron James emojis might signal a change was in order for the Lakers; however, it seems that Pelinka saw enough from the Lakers’ recent three-game winning streak to choose to roll with the team he’s got right now.

Still, it’s theoretically possible that Los Angeles could look to add some talent on the buyout market, as numerous recognizable faces around the league will find themselves able to sign with a new team in the coming days as they reach contract buyouts.

Recently, Rob Pelinka shed some light on what the Lakers’ approach will be to that market.

” … It’s a thoughtful and tricky calculus at times when the trade deadline is upon us. Our fans understand that this season is incredibly important and we will be very aggressive with our open roster spot,” said Pelinka, per Michael Corvo of ClutchPoints on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “There’s a really good group of names available on the looming buyout market. … So we’re gonna look for ways to upgrade our team there.”

Pelinka also explained why Los Angeles chose to remain stagnant at the deadline.

“You can’t buy a house that’s not for sale. We spent a lot of time looking for ways to use assets to make our team better. But, the right move wasn’t there.”