“Just a bad GM”- Fans criticize Lakers GM Rob Pelinka’s CBA explanation after losing Dejounte Murray sweepstakes

Fans criticized LA Lakers' general manager Rob Pelinka after Dejounte Murray was reportedly traded to the New Orleans Pelicans by the Atlanta Hawks. The Lakers anticipated adding the All-Star level player to their roster ahead of the next season and reportedly offered Larry Nance Jr., Dyson Dyson Daniels, and two first-round picks in exchange for Murray.

However, many felt that the trade exchange wasn't enough to land the Hawks star and were critical of Pelinka who previously claimed the new CBA system had made making trades difficult across the league.

"I don’t believe that sht no more. hes just a bad gm," a fan tweeted.

"He’s been sleeping at the job since he got AD," a fan tweeted.

"Useless GM I swear!!! Just useless….WTF DOES JEANIE DO THERE?? PELINKA HAS DONE NOTHING WITHOUT KLUTCH!!!" a fan tweeted.

"I don't get how Pelinka never gets held accountable. I hated Ham just as much as most Laker fans but Pelinka is the one that assembled this roster. He always gets away with avoiding interviews and Jeanie will never fire him. Just insane," a fan tweeted.

"Kyrie Irving ❌ Alex Caruso ❌ Dejounte Murray ❌ all trades was worse packages than what we can offer. Rob Pelinka deadass can’t do sht right," a fan tweeted.

Rob Pelinka largely focused on the new CBA rules after the LA Lakers failed to make a trade at the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday.

“We explored every upgrade we could to make our team better,” Pelinka said.

“I do think if you polled all 30 GMs across the league, just in general, trades have become more difficult because of the new CBA system. And so, there’s less access, I think, to making those big moves than maybe there was under the old system." [via USA Today].

The Collective Bargaining Agreement induces stricter salary cap rules, because of which NBA teams are nudged to build short-term competitive windows, as compared to trying to build for 7–10 years.

Rob Pelinka breaks down Lakers' drafting Bronny James

The LA Lakers drafted Bronny James with their 55th pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday. With their selection, Bronny will likely join his dad, LeBron James, in a Lakers uniform for the next season, which will be the first time a father-son duo takes the NBA stage as active players.

During the interview after the draft, Lakers' general manager Rob Pelinka elaborated on their decision to draft the USC guard.

"Next season, NBA history could be made," Pelinka said. "And NBA history should be made in a Lakers uniform. That's just how we globally feel about the draft moment, but more important than that, is to talk about Bronny James as a basketball player. This is his day and he is the one selected with the 55th pick."

"Bronny is, first and foremost, a person of high character. Second, he is a young man that works incredibly hard. And those are the qualities you look for in drafting players and adding to our development core at the Lakers," he added.

LeBron James has a player option he can exercise ahead of the next season if he wants to switch teams or pursue a better offer from a different team. However, it is unlikely that he would give up on the opportunity to play alongside his son in the NBA.