Originally published by LakersNation.com
Award talk is swirling around the NBA right now as the league released the finalists for all of its end-of-year awards.
The Los Angeles Lakers had a couple of players listed in those announcements in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but one honor that was not included was the NBA’s Executive of the Year Award, one that Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka would seem to be in the running for.
Pelinka orchestrated the trade that brought Anthony Davis to the Lakers while also doing an excellent job of having a contingency plan in place while waiting on the decision of Kawhi Leonard.
Signing Danny Green and Avery Bradley following Leonard choosing the L.A. Clippers while also retaining important role players such as Alex Caruso and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope all helped to take the Lakers to the top of the Western Conference.
But this apparently won’t be enough to get Pelinka in the running for the award as, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, there seems to be little support for the Lakers general manager among those sampled:
Among the voting constituents sampled, there seemed to be little support for the candidacy of Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, who helped a massive turnaround to vault the team into the top seed in the West.
But some of his peers, many of whom had a history of dealing with Pelinka as an agent, seem to not want to give him much credit. Some cited the role of Rich Paul, the agent for James and Davis, in putting the team together. Others pointed to the Lakers being accused of and fined for tampering in recent years.
Unlike all other NBA awards which are voted on by the media, the Executive of the Year is decided by the other front offices with each team getting one vote, not being allowed to use it on themselves. As such, this can lead to some pettiness occurring and possible grudges carrying over.
As noted, Pelinka’s history as an agent before taking over the Lakers has led to some lingering issues with other front offices and that could manifest in things such as this. Though this award would be nice, there is little doubt that Pelinka would much prefer an NBA championship.
LeBron named finalist for NBA MVP, A.D. finalist for Defensive Player of the Year
The Lakers have a chance to walk away with some hardware as both James and Davis were named finalists for NBA awards. James, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo and James Harden are the finalists for MVP. Davis is up against Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert for the Defensive Player of the Year.
Obviously Frank Vogel may be a little biased as head coach of the Lakers, but he is fully endorsing both of his stars for those awards. “What LeBron means to our team, even before the season begins when the roster is being put together, with the number of guys on the Lakers because LeBron James is here and they want to play with him,” Vogel said.
“I think it starts there. And then obviously what he’s able to do on the basketball court, orchestrating the offense, leading the league in assists and really setting the tone on the defensive end.”
And that same belief bleeds over to Davis and the Defensive Player of the Year award.
“We’re the third-best defense in the NBA, best in the West, and a lot of that comes from his commitment this season, which has been greater than the last few years from what I’m told,” Vogel said.
“It has really set us apart in terms of currently having the best record in the Western Conference. I’m hopeful those two awards go to those two players.”
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Award talk is swirling around the NBA right now as the league released the finalists for all of its end-of-year awards.
The Los Angeles Lakers had a couple of players listed in those announcements in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but one honor that was not included was the NBA’s Executive of the Year Award, one that Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka would seem to be in the running for.
Pelinka orchestrated the trade that brought Anthony Davis to the Lakers while also doing an excellent job of having a contingency plan in place while waiting on the decision of Kawhi Leonard.
Signing Danny Green and Avery Bradley following Leonard choosing the L.A. Clippers while also retaining important role players such as Alex Caruso and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope all helped to take the Lakers to the top of the Western Conference.
But this apparently won’t be enough to get Pelinka in the running for the award as, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, there seems to be little support for the Lakers general manager among those sampled:
Among the voting constituents sampled, there seemed to be little support for the candidacy of Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, who helped a massive turnaround to vault the team into the top seed in the West.
But some of his peers, many of whom had a history of dealing with Pelinka as an agent, seem to not want to give him much credit. Some cited the role of Rich Paul, the agent for James and Davis, in putting the team together. Others pointed to the Lakers being accused of and fined for tampering in recent years.
Unlike all other NBA awards which are voted on by the media, the Executive of the Year is decided by the other front offices with each team getting one vote, not being allowed to use it on themselves. As such, this can lead to some pettiness occurring and possible grudges carrying over.
As noted, Pelinka’s history as an agent before taking over the Lakers has led to some lingering issues with other front offices and that could manifest in things such as this. Though this award would be nice, there is little doubt that Pelinka would much prefer an NBA championship.
LeBron named finalist for NBA MVP, A.D. finalist for Defensive Player of the Year
The Lakers have a chance to walk away with some hardware as both James and Davis were named finalists for NBA awards. James, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo and James Harden are the finalists for MVP. Davis is up against Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert for the Defensive Player of the Year.
Obviously Frank Vogel may be a little biased as head coach of the Lakers, but he is fully endorsing both of his stars for those awards. “What LeBron means to our team, even before the season begins when the roster is being put together, with the number of guys on the Lakers because LeBron James is here and they want to play with him,” Vogel said.
“I think it starts there. And then obviously what he’s able to do on the basketball court, orchestrating the offense, leading the league in assists and really setting the tone on the defensive end.”
And that same belief bleeds over to Davis and the Defensive Player of the Year award.
“We’re the third-best defense in the NBA, best in the West, and a lot of that comes from his commitment this season, which has been greater than the last few years from what I’m told,” Vogel said.
“It has really set us apart in terms of currently having the best record in the Western Conference. I’m hopeful those two awards go to those two players.”
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!