The LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers are in danger of becoming a one-trick pony as they have yet to tack another title to their 2019-20 run. Dwight Howard was one of the key members of that championship crew, and he has spoken up about it plenty of times.
Dwight has staunchly declared that the Purple and Gold could have repeated as champs only if the front office ran it back. The big man blames the roster breakup on Rob Pelinka, which former Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy seems to agree with.
Pelinka's 2020 offseason moves
Handy had been with Los Angeles for the previous five years, so he likely knows what had gone on behind the scenes. Phil avoided explicitly ascribing the Lakers' failures in recent years to Pelinka . However, his comment on the Instagram post of "Gil's Arena" that showed Howard's statement, "Rob kinda messed up the dynasty we was starting," is pretty telling.
Dwight also said L.A. could have won two or three rings without the changes. That would be tough to agree with, but Pelinka probably should have provided the team a chance to gun for the repeat.
Instead, the former sports agent let go of several crucial pieces, including Howard, JaVale McGee, Avery Bradley, Rajon Rondo, Danny Green, and J.R. Smith. They were replaced by Marc Gasol, Montrezl Harrell, Wesley Matthews, and Dennis Schroder—to be fair, some folks praised the summer moves.
Unfortunately, injuries and losing players due to health and safety protocols took their toll on the team. Not even retaining the offseason losses could have probably increased the Lakers' hopes of claiming the title again.
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Handy's veiled shot at Pelinka
Perhaps Handy's comment stems from his possible frustration with the franchise. He has shown loyalty and dedication to Los Angeles in the past years. The players also thought highly of Phil, and many of them even expressed admiration for him publicly.
Even so, the longtime assistant coach didn't even get a chance to be the head coach this summer, getting fired alongside former head coach Darvin Ham and then losing out to the inexperienced JJ Redick for the open spot.
Two years ago, Handy exclaimed he was ready to be a head coach, essentially auditioning for the Lakers' then-vacant position. However, the organization instead brought him back as part of Ham's coaching staff.
It remains to be seen if Pelinka can rectify the mistakes of 2020 and beyond with the hiring of Redick. If not, don't be surprised to see people like Howard and Handy continuing to take shots at Rob.
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