LeBron James' friend shares honest thoughts on Lakers players being seemingly 'fed up' of GM Rob Pelinka

LeBron James and Rob Pelinka are staples near and around the trade deadline over the past few years. Since King James arrived in LA, Pelinka has had to reconstruct the roster to give the four-time MVP reportedly max opportunities to win a championship.

With the Feb. 26 trade deadline looming, James and the Lakers GM are back in the rumors.

Cuffs The Legend, a friend of James, commented about the Lakers’ situation on Thursday. The social media personality wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

“sounds like a lot of people in the organization are fed up with Pelinka”

Rob Pelinka started making moves in December to upgrade the LA Lakers roster. He traded D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Shake Milton and Dorian Finney-Smith. This month, he waived fan favorite Quincy Olivari for Trey Jemison III to shore up the frontcourt.

A week ago, LeBron James and Anthony Davis sat in an interview with Shams Charania of ESPN. The two superstars agreed they are 1-2 pieces away from contending for a championship. How Pelinka can accommodate what the franchise cornerstones want is anybody’s guess.

Per Spotrac, the Lakers are only $3.5 million above the punishing second apron. To give James and Davis the piece they want, Pelinka likely has to give up more players and precious first-round assets.

---

Anthony Davis wants GM Rob Pelinka to trade for a center

Anthony Davis has been the starting center for the LA Lakers since the 2021-22 season. In an interview with Shams Charania roughly a week ago, Davis gave GM Rob Pelinka a strong recommendation to challenge for the championship:

"I think we need another big. I feel like I've always been at my best when I've been the 4, having a big out there. We know it worked when we won a championship with JaVale [McGee] and Dwight [Howard] at the 5 and I'm at the 4.

Jaxson Hayes and Trey Jemison III have 65 career starts combined. Neither is likely the answer to the “big” Anthony Davis wants to man the paint so he can slide to the power-forward spot.

The ball is in Rob Pelinka’s hands to make a move. If the Lakers fail to make the playoffs or have a deep postseason run, the team and the fans will likely blame him.