The late ‘Black Mamba,’ Kobe Bryant had backed Rob Pelinka’s appointment as VP of Basketball Operations and General Manager in 2019. But since he took up the role, Pelinka has come under fire for his inefficient handling of affairs at the Lakers. The latest critique is his inability to land a quality-free agent in DeMar DeRozan and Stephen A. Smith isn’t hopeful that the franchise will be able to get their target.

The Lakers have been rumored to get a deal done for DeRozan, but the way things are shaping up, even that looks like a wishful dream. The simple reason: the Miami Heat has emerged as a threat to lure the 15-year veteran. Los Angeles Lakers have seen nothing but failure in their desperate attempts at adding a third star to join LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Despite Bron’s readiness to take a pay cut for an elite star, none of the top names they had their eyes on was willing to make the move.

Stephen A. Smith plays the Devil and Angel on the Lakers’ shoulder with the DeMar DeRozan trade

The Purple & Gold’s last hope before DeRozan was Klay Thompson, who is also a California native. However, the 4x champion decided to leave the Bay Area and ‘Nordic Knife’ in favor of a potential fifth title with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving at Dallas. And now, the outspoken ESPN favorite, Stephen A. Smith, has come forward with an assessment that does not help the Lakers much.

In his latest episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, the analyst laid out the pros and cons of DeMar DeRozan with the Lakers. “We know that DeMar DeRozan would love to be a Laker, but he wants to get paid and I’m not knocking him for that. I think DeMar DeRozan would be a really really good pickup for the Los Angeles Lakers. I [however] don’t think it’s going to happen. I think the stiffest competition is Miami. They have some questions about Jimmy Butler. DeRozan is 34 years of age, hasn’t had Jimmy Butler’s injury history.”

Lakers and DeRozan have history of course. In 2021, the Lakers nearly signed DeRozan but then turned their attention to Russell Westbrook. Could there still be some bad blood from DeRozan’s end that could prevent a move? In 2022, in an interview on the “The Old Man and The Three” podcast, he said, “Like I was sold on that, done deal. I didn’t even entertain anything else, because I’m letting this situation work itself out. So, when I seen the trade happen, I knew there was no way for me to go to the Lakers at this point.” If he carries some resentment from what happened, the Lakers will have a hard time convincing him. Even if they do, how does he fit into the team? Smith believes that in itself is a dilemma.

Smith highlighted what he can bring to the Lakers, “If he were to end up there [Los Angeles], even though he’d be an additive, a plus, as opposed to a liability because of his ability to score without needing LeBron James or Anthony Davis to do it for him because he’s missed the mid-range, etc., I still think it’s a little bit different.”

DeRozan averaged 24.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 79 games in Chicago last season. Marked as one of the best isolation scorers in the league, he finished second in Clutch Player of the Year voting. Not to forget he brings in 15 years of experience that any team could use. As such, he would look to drive the team’s momentum forward, something that would be difficult to do with James around at the Lakers.

The analyst continued, “Because LeBron James controls the tempo and the ball. If you’re DeMar, you don’t want to be sitting around waiting for LeBron James to give you the ball because you’re not some spot-up shooter. So to me, I think that actually, the Miami Heat situation would be a lot better for DeMar DeRozan than the Los Angeles Lakers.”

In a roundabout way, it makes sense; we suppose. Looking at it from player compatibility, the Heat would be a better option for DeRozan. Much like the Lakers, the ‘Sunshine State’ is also in dire need of a star, preferably someone like Butler, not scared of charging head-first into battle. With a playing style similar to Butler, the duo could very well turn Miami into a scary opponent.

Signing with the Lakers could also mean DeRozan takes a cut-price deal, which isn’t ideal for him. With LeBron James agreeing to a new two-year $104 million deal, it will be hard for the franchise to pay DeRozan what he might actually be worth. They can still use their $5.2 million taxpayer mid-level exception on DeRozan, but it will be a massive pay cut for the player. The player was on a three-year, $81.9 million deal in Chicago and it was reported that the franchise were willing to offer him a two-year $40 million per season, highlighting his importance.

The bookmakers’s odds also don’t favor the Lakers. At +250, the team has the shortest odds to land DeRozan for the upcoming season. Apart from Heat, Kings have also emerged as strong favorites.

You don’t need us to go into details about the desperate situation of the Lakers. Yes, there are chances for them to be successful with some careful strategization and such. But, as Stephen A. pointed out, it most certainly wouldn’t hurt to get a bona fide scorer. 

And that brings us back to our earlier point – that of Rob Pelinka. After all, it was his job to get an elite free agent.

Stephen A. Smith wouldn’t be too against replacing Rob Pelinka with a more experienced hand

In 2019, Kobe Bryant gave his former agent and the current VP of Basketball Operations, Rob Pelinka his backing during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “Rob is more than capable of handling the job and all the pressure that comes along with that,” Bryant had said.

But since then Pelinka’s reign has not exactly inspired. In an earlier episode of his podcast, Stephen A. Smith replied to a question of whether it was high time for Jeanie Buss to move on from Pelinka to fellow analyst, Bob Myers. The 56-year-old’s response? “Bob Myers went to UCLA. He lives in California. He’s a native there. And he’s an elite executive who has four championships on his resume. Kinda knows what he’s doing.” 

Smith also brought attention to the coaching struggles that included the failure to land Ty Lue, the firing of Frank Vogel, and Darvin Ham, and now another failure to land a star coach in Dan Hurley. While he wasn’t completely against JJ Redick as the coach, although he did describe JJ as ‘ain’t everybody’s cup of tea‘, Stephen A. does wonder how things would have turned out if it was Myers in the chair instead of Pelinka.

Pretty sure that’s a sentiment shared by at least quite a few, wouldn’t you say? Drop us your thoughts in the comments below.

Before you go, though, be sure to check this video of Leonardo Armato’s take on the deadly duo, Shaq and Kobe. Don’t forget to check back in for more such updates from our ES Fancast!