The Los Angeles Lakers continue to reach new bottoms throughout the 2021-22 NBA season. Following their loss to the Dallas Mavericks, they have dropped to being seven games below .500 with a 27-34 record—good for ninth in the Western Conference standings.
Perhaps most troubling of all for the Lakers is the success the LA Clippers have achieved this season despite not having Kawhi Leonard for all of the season and Paul George being sidelined for much of their games, too. Right now, the Clippers have a winning record (33-31).
There will surely be changes the Lakers undergo after the season they’ve been having barring an incredible change of fate. For starters, coach Frank Vogel has once again found himself on the hot seat and general manager Rob Pelinka may not be much safer, it turns out.
According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, there’s been “growing speculation” that one particular name could be the Los Angeles Lakers’ target as a Rob Pelinka replacement: Omar Wilkes of Klutch Sports Group, the representatives of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
“There has been growing speculation about one name to replace Pelinka as Lakers general manager: Omar Wilkes, the current head of basketball operations for Paul’s agency, Klutch Sports. Wilkes has been described as somewhat of a compromise between that ironclad Lakers family and Klutch’s operation.
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The Lakers ties Wilkes shares should not be understated. His father, Jamal Wilkes, was part of three championship runs with the Lakers during the Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar era.
“His father, Jamaal Wilkes, played eight seasons with the franchise and won three championships alongside Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Jordan Wilkes, Omar’s younger brother, spent six years in the Lakers’ front office before joining the Hornets as a scout in 2019.”
There’s long been a pattern of the Los Angeles Lakers making decisions with personnel previously holding ties with the organization. Former players like Jerry West, Kurt Rambis, and Magic Johnson have been recently influential cases. It would not be surprising to see Wilkes get the title.
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Perhaps what should help Omar Wilkes is his ties to LeBron James in the form of his representation with Klutch Sports Group given the circumstances. Of course, Rob Pelinka would not be fired before this becomes a reality, however.
