Rob Pelinka breaks down Lakers free agent signings: ‘We like the upgrades’

At the Luka Dončić press conference, Lakers President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka explained how the roster has improved over the summer.

Lakers President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka has been cooking in silence all summer, building the roster for this team.

He signed Deandre Ayton as L.A.’s new starting big, acquired Jake LaRavia as an upside wing player and added a defensive-minded person in Marcus Smart.

The biggest deal he’s done, however, was his most recent one.

On Saturday, the team announced that Luka Dončić signed a three-year, $165-million extension with the Lakers, securing their young superstar.

During the press conference for Luka, Pelinka detailed how every move made this season was geared towards putting a team together that can maximize Dončić’s talent and get Los Angeles closer to a title.

“In conversations with Luka, it was really important for us to get a lob-catching center and we feel like getting Deandre Ayton was huge,” Pelinka said. It’s going to unlock so much in Luka’s game. As you can tell, in the pick-and-roll reads, he’s the best in the world and I think Deandre’s going to help. Our thesis for our roster was to get younger and I think getting some 3-and-D players like Jake LaRavia that we could add at his age…having wings that can shoot and play on both sides of the ball was really important.

“And then being able to add Marcus Smart, Defensive Player of the Year a couple years ago, I think a chip on his shoulder to be back at that level and put the league on notice. I think having players like that surrounding both Luka and LeBron, guys who can defend multiple positions, is really important.

“We like the upgrades we were able to make to the roster. But by no means are we going to be satisfied. I think every year, we’re on an infinite cycle to try to improve this team and win championships and we’ll stay committed to that work.”

With LeBron James opting in, Luka extended and center depth improved, the Lakers are better entering the fall than they were at the end of the spring.

While Lakers fans are never satisfied, the only complaints they can have, regarding the job Pelinka has done this summer, are based on unrealistic expectations they had regarding trade scenarios that never existed.

In the real world, the Lakers have improved a roster that won 50 games last year. They should also expect to get better internally. Head coach JJ Redick now has a year of experience under his belt, and Luka is entering his first full season in a purple and gold uniform.

So, while the rest of the NBA world might scoff at improvements in the margins, let’s see how things look once games are played and results are coming in.

If they start hot, we’ll be seeing Pelinka doing press conferences during the season, happy to talk about how good the 2025-26 Lakers are.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.