When LeBron James opted in on his $52.6 million option, one would assume it was the first of the dominoes to fall in place. But that’s not what’s transpiring over with the Los Angeles Lakers. Even though the superstar extended the contract, it came with an ultimatum from his agent that the team needs to be better. Even though Rob Pelinka has made three additions, the Laker Nation is not completely on board with those moves. Can you blame them?

The team added Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia, and now Marcus Smart. But in order to get that cap space, they let Dorian Finney-Smith walk in free agency and waived two more players to get the Smart deal done. Today, ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news of the Lakers waiving first Shake Milton and now Jordon Goodwin. In fact, the team picked his player option earlier during the offseason, but he was only guaranteed $25,000 of his $2.3 million contract until January.

So, to inculcate Smart’s two-year, $11 million deal, the team waived Milton and Goodwin. Per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the team is now just about $1 million under the first apron with Smart, after waiving both Milton and Goodwin. Which led to a question for Rob Pelinka and co. Why not waive a youngster in Bronny James? Trevor Lane had the answer, and it was not only because Bronny is the son of LeBron James. “No. Bronny has guaranteed money so waiving him would have only put dead money on their books and not freed up any spending power.”

Since James Jr. is on guaranteed money, that wouldn’t have been beneficial to the books. But the main concern remained: why have there been no trades from the GM? The 55-year-old has relied on waivers in order to sign the additions. That’s why the frustrations from the Laker Nation have seeped in.

Rob Pelinka gets no support from the Lakers fans

The roster already has two superstars in LeBron James and Luka Doncic. With cap space restrictions, signing a third superstar caliber player is a big challenge. But the consensus seems to be that the GM is not trying for a trade. “Pelinka really has no clue how to make an off-season trade huh,” said one of the fans on X. But that’s truly not the case. As per Brett Siegel, the front office had talked with multiple teams over the last 24 hours. Unfortunately, that never amounted to anything fruitful.

Which is why the Lakers fans are pinning the blame on Rob Pelinka and the entire front office. “Pelinka and the rest of those bozo’s have zero creativity when it comes to making deals. Other GM’s turn Milton and Goodwin into something, even if it’s something small.” Another major reason for the team choosing cap space is because of the 2027 free agency period. Yes, the team is hoping to sign a Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokić. But should the future moves dictate the current debacle?

“We sittin on too many assets for me to be patient lol.. we got lucky we landed guys on a buyout cause Pelinka ain’t trading for anyone.” A fan on X questioned the GM being lucky since the buyout helped in roster navigation. In fact, another netizen was tired of the same old from Rob Pelinka. “The Lakers are going to be good next year, but they could be so much better if Pelinka was good in the margins.” Yikes, that’s not what the 55-year-old needs to read right now.

But the frustration also emerges since many believe the players are doing the job for the GM. “LeBron used to do Pelinka job and now Luka is doing Pelinka job I’m cryin bro.” This is in the context of reports signifying Doncic being the key figure for the first Ayton signing and now Smart.

A championship or bust is always the mindset of the Lakers fans. That’s how the team is the 2nd in the league in terms of total rings in league history. Only time will tell if the GM made the right moves.