Watch Rob Pelinka filling in at Lakers’ practice

Rob Pelinka is helping the Lakers prepare for the Heat.

Los Angeles Lakers GM Rob Pelinka took a lot of flack early in his tenure for some poor personnel decisions, but he has his team just four wins over the Miami Heat away from a championship. Determined to avoid letting that ring slip through his grasp, Pelinka is trying to get in on some of Frank Vogel’s practices.

Pelinka is doing everything he can to pick up his first title as a general manager, even going so far as to help the Lakers out in practice as they prepare for a deep, relentless attack from Miami.

Can Rob Pelinka really play the role of Jimmy Butler in practice?

Pelinka isn’t an analytic number cruncher that managed to fight his way to the top of the Lakers’ front office, as he has some experience on the court. Pelinka was a bench player on the Fab Five-led Michigan teams of the early 1990s, scoring 2.6 points per game over his four years in Anm Arbor. Pelinka soon transitioned into the agent realm, where stars like Kobe Bryant, James Harden, and current Heat veteran Andre Iguodala all sought his counsel.

The Lakers are going to need more than a 50-year-old man playing at half-speed to get ready for this Heat team, however. Not only do they have four players who averaged 19 points or more in the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals, but they are coming into this series with tons of momentum after toppling Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum in consecutive matchups.

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Pelinka’s record as a GM was a bit spotty before this season, but the trade for Anthony Davis rescued his reputation and helped propel the Lakers to the Finals. We’ll find out over the next week if his efforts will bring another Larry O’Brien Trophy to the hallowed halls of the Lakers’ facility.