Lakers give Pelinka four-year contract extension

The Lakers and Rob Pelinka, the team’s vice president of basketball operations and general manager, agreed to a four-year contract extension, people who were not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to The Times on Saturday.

The deal for Pelinka runs through 2026 and again shows that Jeanie Buss, the Lakers’ controlling owner and president, continues to have faith in Pelinka and his vision for the franchise. This likely puts to rest concerns that his job could be in jeopardy if the Lakers have another miserable season like last season, when they failed to make even the postseason play-in tournament.

The Lakers had been keen on extending Pelinka, one person said, with the sides coming to an agreement a few months ago, around the time they were searching for a new coach.

Pelinka’s deal aligns with that of new Lakers coach Darvin Ham, who signed a four-year contract to replace the fired Frank Vogel.

Pelinka, 52, was hired in 2017 to be general manger after Buss fired longtime executive Mitch Kupchak. Pelinka was promoted to vice president in 2020.

Pelinka joined forces with former Lakers president Magic Johnson in bringing LeBron James aboard as a free agent in 2018. Pelinka acquired Anthony Davis from New Orleans in 2019 in a trade.

Davis and James led the Lakers to the 2020 NBA championship in the Florida “bubble” during the COVIDshortened season.

The Lakers lost to Phoenix in the first round of the 2021 playoffs and then didn’t make the play-in tournament last season, their 3349 record the fifth worst in the Western Conference.

The Lakers then bumbled the firing of Vogel, with word leaking soon after last season’s finale.

In rebuilding the team this summer, Pelinka gave James a two-year, $97.1-million contract extension that runs through the 2024 season, traded for defense-oriented guard Patrick Beverley and acquired younger players to give the Lakers more youth and athleticism.