I’m a subscriber to the Athletic and they have some great articles. I don’t mind sharing them with you guys for free. Just tag me the article and I’ll post it for you. Just like the ESPN + thread.
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I’m a subscriber to the Athletic and they have some great articles. I don’t mind sharing them with you guys for free. Just tag me the article and I’ll post it for you. Just like the ESPN + thread.DirkDizzler
Pro
God bless.
There’s a espn + thread? Link?
G.O.A.T Squad Spokesman
Logic Is Absent Wherever Hate Is Present
In
The God Poster
LWO representa
I could of swore this this thread was already done
Edit: it was this
https://www.thecoli.com/threads/does-anyone-have-an-account-for-theathletic-com.609663/
@Skooby @god shamgod y'all still got the hook up
Edit: it was this
https://www.thecoli.com/threads/does-anyone-have-an-account-for-theathletic-com.609663/
@Skooby @god shamgod y'all still got the hook up
Repped. Can you post the one today from Sam Amick about Rob Pelinka/Lakers?
Inside the post-Magic Lakers and why Jeanie Buss believes Rob Pelinka can rescue the LeBron James era
This is Rob Pelinka’s dream job.
Let’s just start there.
Long before Kobe Bryant’s former-agent-turned-Lakers-general-manager was hired by owner Jeanie Buss in February 2017, and even longer before Magic Johnson’s stunning Staples Center exit on April 9 that inspired the latest round of disarray and yet another coaching search, Pelinka was playing a familiar what-if game with Bryant in his Newport Beach backyard.
This was just seven seasons into Kobe’s career, with three titles already won and two more to come in the post-Shaquille O’Neal era, which would begin soon thereafter. And Pelinka, who was still working under then-super agent Arn Tellem and would later take Bryant with him after founding his agency, already had his eyes on this purple-and-gold prize.
“We had a pipe dream in 2003,” Bryant told The Athletic back in October. “We sat back, and we used to do these exercises where you’d say, ‘OK, in 20 years, where we going to be?’ And it just seemed so ridiculous, but (you had to name) the most ridiculous dream that we could ever, ever, have. ‘What is the most ridiculous dream that we could have in 20 years?’ And mine was building a studio and winning an Oscar (which he has done). And his was being GM of the Lakers.”
Kobe’s response?
“It’s never going to happen,” Bryant told Pelinka that day.
But it did. And 14 years later, after Bryant himself had a crucial meeting with Jeanie in which he encouraged her to fire Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak on her way to the hiring of Pelinka and promotion of Johnson to his president of basketball operations role, this deed had been done.
“When (Pelinka) called me, he said, ‘Hey, Jeanie’s considering me for this role; what do you think?’” Bryant continued. “I said, ‘What do I think?’ I said, ‘Dude, can life get any crazier right now? This is unbelievable.’”
Jeanie Buss and Kobe Bryant. (Robert Hanashiro / USA Today)
They called this shot way back then — in more ways than Pelinka ever might have known.
There’s a different kind of disbelief dogging Pelinka now, as these Lakers are sideways yet again at a time when there is so much at stake. It’s craziness in all the wrong ways, with Johnson’s exit creating a nightmarish landscape at such a pivotal point in the franchise’s history. As such, it’s time to re-examine the inner workings of the Lakers operation that is running the risk of ruining LeBron James’ twilight years.
Say what you will about Johnson, whose absentee approach and acerbic style to the job so often rankled those beneath him, but the fact remains that he was the one and only Lakers official invited to LeBron’s Los Angeles-area home on July 1 for that midnight meeting that led to their partnership. He was the iconic superstar with whom LeBron could relate. He was with the business mogul whose impact on African-American communities was never lost on LeBron. He was, both literally and figuratively, the only one in the room who could truly understand what it meant to be a star of James’ magnitude.
Yet while those who know LeBron best say Magic’s influence on his decision to join the Lakers shouldn’t be overstated, there was still an element of truth in the assertion that he was their closer. And now, with less than three months remaining before free agency formally begins and with the Anthony Davis trade talks with New Orleans expected to re-start as well, this question remains: Is Pelinka capable of steering the Lakers out of this abyss — hiring the right coach to replace the departed Luke Walton, closing a deal or two along the way — and fulfilling their title-contending dreams?
It depends on whom you ask, but the vast majority of agents and executives polled by The Athletic have serious doubts. Pelinka has no shortage of detractors around the league, with the issues raised ranging from his trustworthiness to his communication style and relatability. The question of trust has dogged Pelinka since 2004, when his then-client Carlos Boozer reneged on a verbal commitment to re-sign with Cleveland and took a more lucrative offer with Utah.
Trust was an issue internally last season as well, with sources saying that Walton and his staff had similar concerns. When it comes to his personality that some see as bizarre, there was perhaps no better public example than the story he told reporters after the February trade deadline about a couple on a train being separated he was when asked whether the Davis trade rumors had impacted the Lakers locker room.
“Do I think Rob is the right GM?” Magic had said during his resignation speech when asked about Pelinka. “That’s a decision that Jeanie has to make, you know? I worked well with him. I had no problems with him. Now they said he has some baggage — I don’t know about that, right? A lot of my agent friends had called, so — but Jeanie has to make all the calls
This is Rob Pelinka’s dream job.
Let’s just start there.
Long before Kobe Bryant’s former-agent-turned-Lakers-general-manager was hired by owner Jeanie Buss in February 2017, and even longer before Magic Johnson’s stunning Staples Center exit on April 9 that inspired the latest round of disarray and yet another coaching search, Pelinka was playing a familiar what-if game with Bryant in his Newport Beach backyard.
This was just seven seasons into Kobe’s career, with three titles already won and two more to come in the post-Shaquille O’Neal era, which would begin soon thereafter. And Pelinka, who was still working under then-super agent Arn Tellem and would later take Bryant with him after founding his agency, already had his eyes on this purple-and-gold prize.
“We had a pipe dream in 2003,” Bryant told The Athletic back in October. “We sat back, and we used to do these exercises where you’d say, ‘OK, in 20 years, where we going to be?’ And it just seemed so ridiculous, but (you had to name) the most ridiculous dream that we could ever, ever, have. ‘What is the most ridiculous dream that we could have in 20 years?’ And mine was building a studio and winning an Oscar (which he has done). And his was being GM of the Lakers.”
Kobe’s response?
“It’s never going to happen,” Bryant told Pelinka that day.
But it did. And 14 years later, after Bryant himself had a crucial meeting with Jeanie in which he encouraged her to fire Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak on her way to the hiring of Pelinka and promotion of Johnson to his president of basketball operations role, this deed had been done.
“When (Pelinka) called me, he said, ‘Hey, Jeanie’s considering me for this role; what do you think?’” Bryant continued. “I said, ‘What do I think?’ I said, ‘Dude, can life get any crazier right now? This is unbelievable.’”
Jeanie Buss and Kobe Bryant. (Robert Hanashiro / USA Today)
They called this shot way back then — in more ways than Pelinka ever might have known.
There’s a different kind of disbelief dogging Pelinka now, as these Lakers are sideways yet again at a time when there is so much at stake. It’s craziness in all the wrong ways, with Johnson’s exit creating a nightmarish landscape at such a pivotal point in the franchise’s history. As such, it’s time to re-examine the inner workings of the Lakers operation that is running the risk of ruining LeBron James’ twilight years.
Say what you will about Johnson, whose absentee approach and acerbic style to the job so often rankled those beneath him, but the fact remains that he was the one and only Lakers official invited to LeBron’s Los Angeles-area home on July 1 for that midnight meeting that led to their partnership. He was the iconic superstar with whom LeBron could relate. He was with the business mogul whose impact on African-American communities was never lost on LeBron. He was, both literally and figuratively, the only one in the room who could truly understand what it meant to be a star of James’ magnitude.
Yet while those who know LeBron best say Magic’s influence on his decision to join the Lakers shouldn’t be overstated, there was still an element of truth in the assertion that he was their closer. And now, with less than three months remaining before free agency formally begins and with the Anthony Davis trade talks with New Orleans expected to re-start as well, this question remains: Is Pelinka capable of steering the Lakers out of this abyss — hiring the right coach to replace the departed Luke Walton, closing a deal or two along the way — and fulfilling their title-contending dreams?
It depends on whom you ask, but the vast majority of agents and executives polled by The Athletic have serious doubts. Pelinka has no shortage of detractors around the league, with the issues raised ranging from his trustworthiness to his communication style and relatability. The question of trust has dogged Pelinka since 2004, when his then-client Carlos Boozer reneged on a verbal commitment to re-sign with Cleveland and took a more lucrative offer with Utah.
Trust was an issue internally last season as well, with sources saying that Walton and his staff had similar concerns. When it comes to his personality that some see as bizarre, there was perhaps no better public example than the story he told reporters after the February trade deadline about a couple on a train being separated he was when asked whether the Davis trade rumors had impacted the Lakers locker room.
“Do I think Rob is the right GM?” Magic had said during his resignation speech when asked about Pelinka. “That’s a decision that Jeanie has to make, you know? I worked well with him. I had no problems with him. Now they said he has some baggage — I don’t know about that, right? A lot of my agent friends had called, so — but Jeanie has to make all the calls
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But there are also respected power brokers who say they’ve had functional and positive experiences dealing with Pelinka, and who believe that his background as a player (he went to two Finals Fours with those Fab Five Michigan teams), attorney and prominent agent who built and ran his own agency is a fit for the Lakers. What’s more, Pelinka was widely known to be handling the lion’s share of the daily duties before Johnson’s departure. He was, in essence, running the front office already.
There have been highlights of Pelinka’s time on his dream job (landing LeBron; the trades that allowed the Lakers to create salary cap space to bring LeBron to town while also making room for another max player; the drafting of Kyle Kuzma at No. 27 in 2017 as part of a trade with Brooklyn) and low moments (the Paul George tampering and failed recruitment; an inability to land a star via trade; the shooting-deprived roster construction of last summer that had everything to do with the Lakers missing the playoffs). Among his most ardent critics, the failed Davis trade talks in February provided a flashpoint that they say shouldn’t be forgotten: then-Pelicans general manager Dell Demps wouldn’t respond to Pelinka, choosing to engage only when Johnson took part.
Yet while rumblings remain that Buss might replace Johnson with an elite front office executive at some point, and with so much pressure from local and national media to conduct a comprehensive search for a new president of basketball operations who isn’t required to have deep Lakers ties, a source with knowledge of her plan insists that this front office is Pelinka’s to run. At least for now.
According to sources, the Lakers never reached out to LeBron’s former general manager in Cleveland, David Griffin, before he agreed to join New Orleans. Sources also say that they haven’t reached out to the Warriors regarding general manager Bob Myers. Ditto for Jerry West, the Clippers consultant who told The Athletic recentlythat he wasn’t sure what his future held past this summer but who now appears likely to remain in his current role going forward. (Ideas had circulated about West possibly heading for the Lakers alongside a younger, high-level GM.) Pat Riley’s name has been discussed in media circles as well — and his ties to LeBron from their Miami days as well as the Lakers organization would certainly qualify as a unique and high-level fit — but the Heat president made it clear in his postseason press conference that he has no interest.
Matters like these can always change, of course, but all early signs point to Pelinka remaining as the head of the front office.
The coaching search alone has proved that much. According to sources, Pelinka has led the way in the organizing and interviewing of candidates Ty Lue, Monty Williams, Juwan Howard and Jason Kidd after former coach Luke Walton decided to head for Sacramento on April 12. Until further notice, in other words, this is all on Pelinka — and friends.
As the Lakers’ second interview with Williams on Thursday showed, the list of Lakers influencers appears to have grown since Johnson headed for the exits. That meeting, which took place in Philadelphia because of Williams’ current playoff duties as a lead assistant coach for the Sixers, included a cast of characters worth detailing if only to get a read of this room. The interviews with Lue and Howard are believed to have been similarly attended by the following group:
“My dad saw she was very capable, intelligent, a strong female, and a real go-getter,” Jeanie said in the book. “He thought she and I would work well together, so he assigned her to marketing duties for the Strings (she would later run day-to-day operations, and then become vice president and general manager of Forum Tennis). … Linda would become a good role model for me.”
And then, of course, there’s the man in the middle of it all: LeBron.
LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul and Rob Pelinka. (Andrew D. Bernstein / Getty Images)
As he enters Year No. 2 of his four-year deal (fourth-year player option), all indications point to LeBron simply hoping that Pelinka & Co. get it right while offering his voice on matters in a measured manner. James, by all accounts, is sensitive to the perception that he attempts to run the show behind the scenes and, as such, has taken this tack.
As was widely reported at the time, he was as stunned by Johnson’s departure as the rest of us. It’s unclear how much faith he has in Pelinka’s ability to lead the way or where their relationship stands after one year together, but that dynamic will certainly be pivotal going forward.
LeBron pushed back hard on the notion that he has lost faith in the Lakers in an Instagram video Thursday.
Strange as it might sound, sources close to LeBron insist he always knew that Year No. 1 might have to be messy for the Lakers to truly recalibrate for the rest of his Los Angeles run.
Yet regardless of how LeBron or anyone else might see this debate about Pelinka’s prospects, anyone who understands what he represents to Jeanie shouldn’t be surprised by her decision to stick with him through all this turmoil. Pelinka, for all intents and purposes, is the unofficial equivalent to Kobe (by proxy) in the eyes of the owner.
This fascinating dynamic is often hinted at but never truly discussed head-on. Yet when Jeanie sat down with The Athletic in October to discuss how the Lakers landed LeBron, she shared a story that shouldn’t be forgotten.
After Jeanie had hired Johnson as an adviser, and before she fired Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak to make room for Pelinka, she met with his close friend and former client near his Newport Beach home to discuss her next move. Jeanie, as she said at the time, was hesitant about what to do next. And Bryant, she made clear, was the one who sparked this entire turn of events.
“He said, ‘If you’re going to do this, then go all the way,’” Jeanie recalled back then. “He’s Mamba, so he said, ‘If you’re going to play (around), then they’ll come back and kill you if you don’t go all the way. … Be decisive, and be quick, and go all in or don’t do it at all, because you’ll sabotage yourself before you even get to start.’ It was good advice. He’s really smart.”
Bryant, her close confidant whose true level of influence remains a mystery, told her to go down this road.
“Jeanie, your father gave you the last word for a reason,” he told her during their meeting, according to Bryant in his October interview with The Athletic. “You have to respect that wish as well. He gave you that final hammer to make the really tough, tough decisions. And sometimes, at some point, you have to step into that limelight and make those decisions. … You’ve got two ways of doing it. You can let it continue to fester and remove it piece by piece, or you just say, ‘To hell with this, we’re turning over a new leaf. I just brought Magic on, and I want to turn things around. I want to send a message, and off we go.’”
And then, just 26 months later, the Magic show came to a stunning and premature end while Jeanie, Pelinka and all the rest of them were left to pick up the purple-and-gold pieces. The real reasons for Magic’s departure remain somewhat murky, but a source with knowledge of the situation adamantly denied the report indicating that Jeanie had mistakenly shared e-mails with Johnson that were critical of his job performance. Johnson did his best to break it all down during that surreal press conference in which he announced that he was done, but the truth is that it simply doesn’t matter anymore.
That dream job that Pelinka and Kobe talked about so long ago is still his for the foreseeable future because, well, that’s the way Jeanie wants it. It’s up to him now to bring this fallen franchise back to where they believe it belongs.
“I’ll still be in my car, and be like, ‘I’m driving to work as the general manager of the Lakers; Is this real?” Pelinka had said early on in his Lakers tenure. “Am I going to work as the general manager (of the Lakers). Still, I have those moments, like ‘Is this really happening?’ So I (feel) incredibly grateful, but it’s also a huge responsibility, mostly to our fans to kind of hit the mark of Lakers excellence and championships. (There’s) a lot of gratitude, but also a lot of weight and the responsibility, and understanding what that really means.”
There have been highlights of Pelinka’s time on his dream job (landing LeBron; the trades that allowed the Lakers to create salary cap space to bring LeBron to town while also making room for another max player; the drafting of Kyle Kuzma at No. 27 in 2017 as part of a trade with Brooklyn) and low moments (the Paul George tampering and failed recruitment; an inability to land a star via trade; the shooting-deprived roster construction of last summer that had everything to do with the Lakers missing the playoffs). Among his most ardent critics, the failed Davis trade talks in February provided a flashpoint that they say shouldn’t be forgotten: then-Pelicans general manager Dell Demps wouldn’t respond to Pelinka, choosing to engage only when Johnson took part.
Yet while rumblings remain that Buss might replace Johnson with an elite front office executive at some point, and with so much pressure from local and national media to conduct a comprehensive search for a new president of basketball operations who isn’t required to have deep Lakers ties, a source with knowledge of her plan insists that this front office is Pelinka’s to run. At least for now.
According to sources, the Lakers never reached out to LeBron’s former general manager in Cleveland, David Griffin, before he agreed to join New Orleans. Sources also say that they haven’t reached out to the Warriors regarding general manager Bob Myers. Ditto for Jerry West, the Clippers consultant who told The Athletic recentlythat he wasn’t sure what his future held past this summer but who now appears likely to remain in his current role going forward. (Ideas had circulated about West possibly heading for the Lakers alongside a younger, high-level GM.) Pat Riley’s name has been discussed in media circles as well — and his ties to LeBron from their Miami days as well as the Lakers organization would certainly qualify as a unique and high-level fit — but the Heat president made it clear in his postseason press conference that he has no interest.
Matters like these can always change, of course, but all early signs point to Pelinka remaining as the head of the front office.
The coaching search alone has proved that much. According to sources, Pelinka has led the way in the organizing and interviewing of candidates Ty Lue, Monty Williams, Juwan Howard and Jason Kidd after former coach Luke Walton decided to head for Sacramento on April 12. Until further notice, in other words, this is all on Pelinka — and friends.
As the Lakers’ second interview with Williams on Thursday showed, the list of Lakers influencers appears to have grown since Johnson headed for the exits. That meeting, which took place in Philadelphia because of Williams’ current playoff duties as a lead assistant coach for the Sixers, included a cast of characters worth detailing if only to get a read of this room. The interviews with Lue and Howard are believed to have been similarly attended by the following group:
- Jeanie and Pelinka. In terms of standard NBA operating procedure, this is obviously normal.
- Tim Harris, the president of business operations and chief operating officer, who began working with Dr. Jerry Buss in 1990.
- Joey Buss, Jeanie’s brother, who is vice president of research and development (he has also been in charge of the Lakers’ G-League team, now called the South Bay Lakers, for the past 12 seasons).
- Jesse Buss, the youngest Buss son, who is in his fourth season as assistant general manager and director of scouting.
- Senior basketball adviser and former Laker Kurt Rambis, who returned to the franchise in late September 2018 after spending the previous four years with the Knicks (assistant coach under Derek Fisher and interim head coach when Fisher was fired). Rambis has come in and out of Laker Land several times in recent years, most recently when he joined Mike D’Antoni’s coaching staff in the summer of 2013.
- Linda Rambis, a longtime friend of Jeanie Buss and wife of Kurt, whose actual level of influence far outweighs her job title: executive director of special projects in the Community Relations division, with no actual bio to be found after the one line that appears on Page 5 of the team’s media guide. In truth, they should give her at least a few paragraphs when it comes to her relevance. Perhaps even these …
“My dad saw she was very capable, intelligent, a strong female, and a real go-getter,” Jeanie said in the book. “He thought she and I would work well together, so he assigned her to marketing duties for the Strings (she would later run day-to-day operations, and then become vice president and general manager of Forum Tennis). … Linda would become a good role model for me.”
And then, of course, there’s the man in the middle of it all: LeBron.
LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul and Rob Pelinka. (Andrew D. Bernstein / Getty Images)
As he enters Year No. 2 of his four-year deal (fourth-year player option), all indications point to LeBron simply hoping that Pelinka & Co. get it right while offering his voice on matters in a measured manner. James, by all accounts, is sensitive to the perception that he attempts to run the show behind the scenes and, as such, has taken this tack.
As was widely reported at the time, he was as stunned by Johnson’s departure as the rest of us. It’s unclear how much faith he has in Pelinka’s ability to lead the way or where their relationship stands after one year together, but that dynamic will certainly be pivotal going forward.
LeBron pushed back hard on the notion that he has lost faith in the Lakers in an Instagram video Thursday.
Strange as it might sound, sources close to LeBron insist he always knew that Year No. 1 might have to be messy for the Lakers to truly recalibrate for the rest of his Los Angeles run.
Yet regardless of how LeBron or anyone else might see this debate about Pelinka’s prospects, anyone who understands what he represents to Jeanie shouldn’t be surprised by her decision to stick with him through all this turmoil. Pelinka, for all intents and purposes, is the unofficial equivalent to Kobe (by proxy) in the eyes of the owner.
This fascinating dynamic is often hinted at but never truly discussed head-on. Yet when Jeanie sat down with The Athletic in October to discuss how the Lakers landed LeBron, she shared a story that shouldn’t be forgotten.
After Jeanie had hired Johnson as an adviser, and before she fired Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak to make room for Pelinka, she met with his close friend and former client near his Newport Beach home to discuss her next move. Jeanie, as she said at the time, was hesitant about what to do next. And Bryant, she made clear, was the one who sparked this entire turn of events.
“He said, ‘If you’re going to do this, then go all the way,’” Jeanie recalled back then. “He’s Mamba, so he said, ‘If you’re going to play (around), then they’ll come back and kill you if you don’t go all the way. … Be decisive, and be quick, and go all in or don’t do it at all, because you’ll sabotage yourself before you even get to start.’ It was good advice. He’s really smart.”
Bryant, her close confidant whose true level of influence remains a mystery, told her to go down this road.
“Jeanie, your father gave you the last word for a reason,” he told her during their meeting, according to Bryant in his October interview with The Athletic. “You have to respect that wish as well. He gave you that final hammer to make the really tough, tough decisions. And sometimes, at some point, you have to step into that limelight and make those decisions. … You’ve got two ways of doing it. You can let it continue to fester and remove it piece by piece, or you just say, ‘To hell with this, we’re turning over a new leaf. I just brought Magic on, and I want to turn things around. I want to send a message, and off we go.’”
And then, just 26 months later, the Magic show came to a stunning and premature end while Jeanie, Pelinka and all the rest of them were left to pick up the purple-and-gold pieces. The real reasons for Magic’s departure remain somewhat murky, but a source with knowledge of the situation adamantly denied the report indicating that Jeanie had mistakenly shared e-mails with Johnson that were critical of his job performance. Johnson did his best to break it all down during that surreal press conference in which he announced that he was done, but the truth is that it simply doesn’t matter anymore.
That dream job that Pelinka and Kobe talked about so long ago is still his for the foreseeable future because, well, that’s the way Jeanie wants it. It’s up to him now to bring this fallen franchise back to where they believe it belongs.
“I’ll still be in my car, and be like, ‘I’m driving to work as the general manager of the Lakers; Is this real?” Pelinka had said early on in his Lakers tenure. “Am I going to work as the general manager (of the Lakers). Still, I have those moments, like ‘Is this really happening?’ So I (feel) incredibly grateful, but it’s also a huge responsibility, mostly to our fans to kind of hit the mark of Lakers excellence and championships. (There’s) a lot of gratitude, but also a lot of weight and the responsibility, and understanding what that really means.”
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Good looks.
Had it for a year, it expired in February and I didn't renew. I didn't read it.I could of swore this this thread was already done
Edit: it was this
https://www.thecoli.com/threads/does-anyone-have-an-account-for-theathletic-com.609663/
@Skooby @god shamgod y'all still got the hook up
I still got insider but it's more than just the articles now. It comes with ESPN Plus and I be watching boxing and UFC on there.
Yeah, that was back on Sohh. A guy made an account and named himself "Ken Writer" I believe. He sent me a threat in a PM. I replied basically laughing at him and made a thread about. Then the site itself said I couldn't post them.
Any info on the Blazers / Nuggets series yet?
Or anything on Kanter's injury / usage of Zach Collins
Or anything on Kanter's injury / usage of Zach Collins