Lakers Insider: Rob Pelinka 'Trending' to Be This Year's 'Scapegoat' if LA Loses

The Los Angeles Lakers could be in for some changes if they are unable to get their inconsistent season back on track.

The Athletic's Jovan Buha said during a recent episode of Buha's Block (15:00 mark) that Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka appears to be the likely fall guy if the Lakers fail to contend for an NBA title.

"Last season, all the fingers got pointed at Darvin Ham for everything that went wrong," Buha said. "This year, it's not as clear of a scapegoat, and I think ultimately what they do over the next... I think it is going to be Pelinka, that's the way this is trending."

At 16-12, the Lakers rank first in the Pacific Division but only sixth in the Western Conference. The team has won three straight games, but it still ranks 19th in the NBA with a -2.6 point differential.

While Pelinka has been able to build a solid core of role players around stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, he's been unable to land the third star needed to propel Los Angeles to title contention.

Since winning the 2020 NBA championship, the Lakers have been eliminated from the playoffs in the first round twice in the last four years and also missed the postseason in 2022.

As the Feb. 6 trade deadline approaches, Pelinka will certainly be working hard to improve Los Angeles' roster in hopes of making the Lakers one of the elite teams in the West.