It’s really not a fun time to be a Lakers fan right now. You just got humiliated by the Timberwolves 4–1 in a series you were the favorite to win. But now comes the time when you face the music. You’ve been overconfident all season about a WCF against the Thunder. The opposition fans will have a field day making fun of you lot. So without further ado, let’s get into- Rob Pelinka & Jeanie Buss: The Lakers Blunder.

Shannon Sharpe’s “Lakers in 5” segments have stolen the show this year. It seems that the tale will live on forever, despite Sharpe taking an indefinite hiatus due to the alleged sexual harassment charges against him. But the worst thing the Lakers could do was crash out in 5 games themselves. This just flips the narrative horribly against Shay-Shay’s favour. And Anthony Edwards didn’t hold back when making fun of it after the game.

“It’s not going to happen because a night where Luka is off, then LeBron and Rui and Austin Reaves might be on. A night that LeBron is off, then Luka is going be on. Just collectively as a group, they’re a much better team as a whole, as opposed to the Wolves,” said Chad Johnson on Shannon’s podcast Nightcap.

A bunch of Lakers fans have tweeted his postgame antics publicly. It seems like Shannon’s overconfidence and blind faith in the Lakers have worked opposite to his intended manner. And Ant was the first to point that out. “Ant Man, Bat Man, Super Man… Lakers in 5,” said Edwards, making his way out of the Crypto.com Arena. Yikes.

Now, onto the second. This list is long so you gotta have patience. Adidas put out a post on their socials speaking highly of Anthony Edwards’ brilliance over 5 games. All they had to do was quote five words: “The King Slayer. Believe that.” All those calls of LeBron James dominating the series over Anthony Edwards? Well, if take a shot at the King, you better not miss. And in that regard, the Ant-Man is the straightest shooter the NBA has ever seen.

Even fast-food giant In-N-Out jumped in. Their official X handle tweeted out saying “The Lakers were In-N-Out of the playoffs,” only to be followed by “In-N-Out will be open until 1:00AM for sad Laker fans 🥲.” Well, at least the Showtime fans can end their dreadful night with a solid cheeseburger.

But the biggest Rob Pelinka blunder was pointed out by the Timberwolves themselves. This is regarding their own player, Jaden McDaniels’ history with the LakeShow, which dates back to the 2020 NBA draft.

Rob Pelinka’s decision to let go of Jaden McDaniels comes back to haunt him

In the lead-up to the COVID-shortened 2020 NBA draft, Jaden McDaniels was widely pegged as a first-round lottery talent—ESPN’s Newcomer Impact Rankings projected him alongside other top prospects, calling him “one of college basketball’s best new faces” and a likely lottery pick. He was shining for the Washington Huskies and had NBA teams scrambling for his signature.

So when the Lakers signed him as the 28th overall pick in 2020, it was considered a massive coup. But he was then subsequently traded to the Thunder. Oklahoma City briefly held McDaniels’ rights before flipping him to Minnesota in a four-team deal that added him to a budding Wolves core. And oh boy, did they live to regret that decision. What was once hailed as savvy asset acquisition now reads like a hemorrhaging mistake: McDaniels has emerged as Minnesota’s defensive Swiss Army knife and a nightmare matchup for LA guards.

He’s one of the very few this season to play all 82 games of the regular season. And even in the postgame series against LA, he was arguably the player of the game in 3 of the 5 games. 25/9 in Game 1, 30/5 in Game 3, and a 16/11 double-double in Game 4. Coming up against the team that got you into the majors, that doesn’t look too good. And the Timberwolves’ official X handle didn’t hesitate to let them know.

To be honest, all Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss can do now is take it on the chin. If you’re not looking forward, you’re essentially looking backward. So it’s time to regroup and reassess. But these blows have to be tough. Do you think they’re justified?