Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka are all on the same page regarding Walton being the coach for the rest of the season, the people said. Buss especially wants to give Walton every opportunity to succeed, one person said. “Nothing is going to happen with Luke,” that person said. “There hasn’t even been any talk about it and there won’t be any talks about it. Luke will definitely finish the season and he has the full support. So any talk in the media or on social media can be put to bed about Luke. He’s not going anywhere. There has been no conversation about it.”
Rob Pelinka Rumors
Adrian Wojnarowski: Elton Brand tells ESPN: “No issue. I have a great relationship with Ben and Rich (Paul) and we expect him to be a Sixer for a long time. He has taken interest in chatting with some of the game’s all-time greats and we’re supportive. I had brief dialogue with Rob Pelinka who I’ve known for a long time, but nothing is planned. Our collective focus is on making a postseason push. Again, we’re not sweating this, end of story.”
“[Lakers general manager] Rob Pelinka called me and said ‘Hey, we’re hearing Ben wants to talk to Hall of Famers, championship-level players, and Magic is on the list. We need authorization for him to meet up.’ And I said ‘No.’ This is over a month ago, so I said no,” Brand explained.
975TheFanatic: “Rob Pelinka called me and said that Ben (Simmons) wanted to talk to Hall of Famers after the season, Magic was on the list. He asked for authorization… I said no. This was over a month ago.” – Elton Brand shooting down the Ben/Magic meeting
