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Los Angeles Lakers GM Rob Pelinka addressed several topics including a Luka Doncic injury update, the trade deadline, and the buyout market when speaking to reporters before the team’s game against the Golden State Warriors.
Before the Los Angeles Lakers began their Saturday night game against the Golden State Warriors, general manager Rob Pelinka spoke to a group of reporters about several topics.
Per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Pelinka discussed a few pressing issues as they relate to the Lakers, the first of which included a Luka Doncic injury update. Doncic went down in Los Angeles’ last game against the Philadelphia 76ers, and the medical staff scheduled an MRI for Friday.
“In terms of this injury, the good news is it doesn’t appear to be anything serious,” he said. “It was a mild hamstring strain, and he is truly day-to-day.”
Pelinka added that one of Doncic’s best qualities is his urge to continue to want to play basketball, despite some of the injury concerns he is currently dealing with. The Lakers general manager and president of basketball operations also addressed the team’s trade deadline acquisition of Luke Kennard and their potential moves on the buyout market.
Luka Doncic Injury Update
Doncic played just 14 minutes on Thursday against the Sixers, leaving the contest with what was originally deemed ‘left leg soreness.‘ After the four-point win, the Lakers confirmed that he suffered a hamstring injury.
“Yeah, he felt some soreness in his hamstring, so he didn’t feel like it was good enough to go back in,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said of Doncic’s injury after the game. “Neither did [our] medical [staff], so we held him out. And he’ll get some imaging. I mean, too early to say if there’s an injury, but just had a sore hamstring.”
As the star was set for an MRI on Friday, Redick said Doncic is dealing with a minor hamstring injury, as was confirmed by Pelinka.
While he is now officially considered ‘day-to-day,’ speaking on ESPN’s Get Up show, insider Brian Windhorst predicted that the injury could last a while.
“It really comes down to, is this a mild strain, a first-degree?” Windhorst said. “If that’s the case, the All-Star break comes next week, and he could be back without missing too many games. If it’s a more serious Grade 2, now you’ve got a bigger problem.”
In what is good news for the Lakers, Doncic’s injury doesn’t appear to be one that will hold him out too long, but his status for the All-Star Game could likely now be considered questionable.
Lakers Trade For Luke Kennard At Deadline
Despite reports on the Lakers having an interest in many players, the team only made one move at the NBA trade deadline. They dealt Gabe Vincent and a second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for Kennard, the second-most efficient shooter in NBA history, with a career average of 49.7% from deep.
Speaking on the addition, Pelinka said that the team seized the opportunity to add a top shooter around their core of Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James.
“We just felt like the gravity and space he could create for the group, with LeBron or with Luka or Austin… [that] could really help us on a playoff run,” the executive said. “When you get to add the best shooter in the game to your group at the deadline, it’s a great opportunity. So, we seized it.”
Though there were hopes of a bigger-name addition at the deadline, a deal never came to fruition. Compared to other teams in the hunt for top trade targets, the Lakers lack the assets, but as Pelinka said, it wasn’t for a lack of trying.
“I would say we were aggressive (at the trade deadline,” he added. “And one form of being aggressive is saying no to moves that come your way that might not be best for the short- and long-term future.”
Along with saying the team was ‘aggressive’ at the deadline, Pelinka added that the team turned down a few offers for players he didn’t believe were the best fit for their future. He added that ‘they got close on some things,’ but didn’t end up going through with a few other deals on the table.
Lakers Buyout Market Targets
Although the Lakers made just one move at the deadline, that doesn’t mean they won’t have another opportunity to shake up their roster ahead of a playoff run. For the next few weeks, teams will have the ability to sign players either on waivers or in the buyout market.
In the days after the deadline, the number of players officially available will become clearer, but in the meantime, the team has been linked to a few names like Haywood Highsmith, Lonzo Ball, Cam Thomas, and others that could come off the bench for the team.
Speaking about the prospect of the buyout market and potential targets, Pelinka said that the open roster spot will likely be filled in some form before they make a postseason run.
“We are in active conversations with some players that are available now [on the buyout market],” he added. “We are evaluating that 15th roster spot and at some point probably will likely fill it.”
While Pelinka addressed numerous topics in his chat with reporters (and hinted at a few others that he didn’t go into full detail on), one thing that Lakers and NBA fans should consider is the potential of the team having an estimated $55 million in cap space this summer, should James and their other free agents outside of Reaves leave.
Los Angeles has made it clear that they are prioritizing cap space and flexibility this summer, looking for players who can fit around Doncic and Reaves over the next few seasons.
At the same time, while nobody landed Giannis Antetokounmpo at the trade deadline, the Lakers are expected to make a push for the two-time MVP this offseason, and the open cap space could be a major help in that effort.
The new ownership group led by Mark Walter has proven with the Los Angeles Dodgers to do whatever it takes financially to put together a winning team, and with that, the possibility of Los Angeles trading for Antetokounmpo should be a major storyline this summer.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
