Rob Pelinka, President of Basketball Operations and General Manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, praised Luke Kennard as the NBA’s premier shooter heading into the playoffs. Pelinka expressed this confidence ahead of Kennard’s first game with the Lakers in their recent matchup against the Golden State Warriors, emphasizing the strategic value of acquiring such a sharpshooter at the trade deadline.
Clearly, right now, he’s the game’s best shooter,
Pelinka said to a group of reporters before Kennard’s Lakers debut.
When you get to add the best shooter in the game to your group at the deadline, it’s a great opportunity. So, we seized it.
Luke Kennard’s Impact on Lakers’ Shooting Challenges
Kennard’s arrival could not have come at a better time for the Lakers, who have struggled with three-point shooting this season. Before joining Los Angeles, Kennard was leading the NBA by hitting 49.7% of his shots from beyond the arc—an essential boost for a Lakers team ranked 21st in the league with a 34.9% three-point shooting percentage. His capability to stretch the floor offers the Lakers a critical edge they have lacked.
We just felt like the gravity and space he could create for the group with LeBron (James), or with Luka (Doncic), or Austin (Reaves), just being a reliable guy that could create space, hit big shots in big games and really help us on a playoff run.
Pelinka explained.
Creating Lineup Flexibility with Kennard’s Shooting
One of the Lakers’ ambitions is to maximize the playing time of their key players: Austin Reaves, Luka Doncic, and LeBron James. According to Pelinka, these players have only shared the court together in ten games this season, limiting the team’s ability to gauge their full potential as a unit. With Kennard now on board, the Lakers envision multiple lineup options that emphasize shooting and spacing on the floor.
We’ve really been hopeful to see our big three on the court at the same time in terms of Austin Reaves, Luka and LeBron, and we’ve just had limited reps of that,
Pelinka stated.
So we’ll be excited when we get that and see what that group could do because we feel like there’s some power in those three players playing together. We felt like adding Luke when those three guys are on the court would actually be really helpful. Just to create some optionality with different lineups, like an all-shooting lineup with Rui (Hachimura) and Luke, and maybe those three guys if you decide to go small in a playoff series.
Strategic Moves and Offseason Planning by Lakers Management
To secure Kennard, the Lakers traded Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round draft pick just before the trade deadline, aiming to preserve flexibility for the coming offseason. This move fits into the Lakers’ broader strategy of maintaining optionality with their assets, including three first-round draft picks they retain the rights to trade (2026, 2031, and 2033) and several players becoming unrestricted free agents after this season.
The team faces potential turnover with five unrestricted free agents, including LeBron James, Hachimura, Kennard, Maxi Kleber, and Jaxson Hayes, alongside three players with player options for the 2026-27 season (Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, and Marcus Smart). This situation could create considerable salary cap flexibility.
It’s clear for all the teams in the league that this dual-apron system is harsh and strict,
Pelinka remarked.
We felt like creating optionality or having optionality now is really a positive thing for us this coming offseason. Because there’s some teams that maybe have gotten too deep into the aprons. And I think players, we see around the league, become available when teams get in that position. So, whether it’s through free agency, whether it’s keeping our own players, whether it’s looking around the league for players that are really good that maybe teams are trying to get off salary, we feel like there’ll be so many different ways to complete our roster in the offseason.
Evaluating Aggressiveness and Long-Term Vision
Pelinka highlighted the importance of a balanced approach in pursuing players. While aggressive, the Lakers have carefully declined moves that may offer short-term fixes but do not align with their long-term vision. He emphasized the difficulty in rejecting seemingly good short-term options in favor of maintaining their overall franchise strategy.
And one form of being aggressive is saying no to moves that come your way that might not be best for the short- and long-term future,
Pelinka said.
Because it’s hard to say no sometimes to getting a good player that could be a quick short-term fix but could have implications for the long term where it doesn’t fit into the overall vision you have for the team.
We were very aggressive. We worked incredibly hard. We evaluated numerous things.
Confidence in Championship Potential Despite Limited Playing Time Together
The Lakers entered the recent game with a strong 31-19 record, despite limited occasions where their core trio—Doncic, James, and Reaves—have played significant minutes together. Pelinka expressed strong faith in his roster’s capability to make a deep playoff push as they grow healthier and gain cohesion.
We believe in the power of this group,
Pelinka asserted.
We want to see what this team can do with the rest of the season. I wouldn’t underestimate the power of what a group of brothers can do when they come together for a playoff run. We feel like we have a really good roster, and we want to get healthy and make a run, and that will help us evaluate end-of-the-season stuff, too. We haven’t made any decisions about any of that prematurely.
Looking Ahead: Prospects for the Lakers’ Playoff Run
With the addition of Kennard, the Lakers intend to enhance their spacing and shooting options significantly. This acquisition, combined with managing roster flexibility for the offseason and respecting the integrity of their long-term strategy, marks an intense period of preparation for a potential championship run. Fans and analysts will watch closely as the team seeks to integrate its key players and capitalize on Kennard’s elite shooting in crucial playoff moments.
Rob Pelinka, speaking to a handful of beat reporters, on the Lakers' acquisition of Luke Kennard: "I think clearly, right now, he's the game's best shooter. When you get to add the best shooter in the game to your group at the deadline, it's a great opportunity. So, we seized… pic.twitter.com/U6SLT5Ehq6
— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) February 8, 2026
