Former Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant was made aware of the team's decision to give general manager duties to Rob Pelinka before it was made public. The Lakers fired general manager Mitch Kupchak and president of basketball operations Jim Buss this past February. Shortly after those decisions, the team announced Earvin ''Magic'' Johnson as their new president of basketball operations. On the other side, Pelinka's announcement by the Lakers came a bit after.
''(Earvin) ''Magic'' (Johnson) reached out to me and let me know that he was hiring Rob (Pelinka), he's hiring RP,'' Bryant revealed on ESPN's "First Take." ''And he and I talked about how great it was and what they want to do going forward.''
Bryant happy with the decision to bring in Pelinka
Rob Pelinka is a former agent of Kobe Bryant and the two have a great relationship.
Along with Kobe Bryant, Pelinka represented many well known athletes in the NBA, and he is a well known personality in the league. Pelinka knows exceptionally well how things go in the world's best basketball league, and that's a highly positive thing to take from this new hire. Five-time NBA champion Bryant seems to be delighted with the team's decision to bring on board his former agent.
''And I just told him (Johnson) how excited I was for Rob,'' Bryant added. ''I mean, this job is tailor-made for Rob. I mean, this is what he does. And so I've just been excited for both of them.''
Kobe has made himself available to advise the team moving forward
Kobe Bryant played his last game in the NBA last year in April against the Utah Jazz.
Since, he has been enjoying his retirement, but, that doesn't mean that anyone has forgotten what he did in a Laker uniform, nor has Bryant forgotten his former team. Should the new Los Angeles Lakers general manager and president of basketball operations need advice, they can call the team's legend.
''Well, I'm there now,'' Bryant noted. ''They can call me now and ask for advice or what I think about this, think about that. I mean, I'm always around, so...''
