If LeBron James had his way, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka would have been more like his Rams counterpart, Les Snead, at the trade deadline last week.
While Pelinka and the Lakers resisted James’ not-so-subtle pushing to upgrade their roster using their 2027 draft pick last week, Snead and the Rams approached things differently a few months ago, using so many draft picks to acquire upgrades and go all-in this season that Snead’s own kids got him a coffee mug with a meme featuring Snead’s face and the message “fuck them picks” on it.