Rob Pelinka’s stop at Summer League in Las Vegas on Friday turned into one of the more talked-about moments of the day, and not because of anything that happened on the court.
The Lakers general manager was seen embracing Denver Nuggets forward Peyton Watson and then spending a brief moment talking with the 22-year-old restricted free agent. Watson has been on the Lakers’ radar for months, which made the interaction stand out even more given the sign-and-trade chatter that has followed him lately.
That buzz has only grown because many around the league believe the Lakers do not have the kind of draft capital or overall assets that would make a deal easy. The team already splurged to acquire Walker Kessler from the Utah Jazz earlier this month, and that move has only added to the sense that landing Watson would be a complicated ask.
Still, that has not stopped Lakers fans from dreaming. “If Rob gets Watson, he’s the best GM ever, I’m serious,” one user wrote on X/Twitter.
“Rob, if Kuminga is asking for 25, go for Watson or PJ Wash (Washington),” another user wrote.
For all the optimism that tends to follow this franchise, the latest reporting on the Lakers’ offseason plans suggests a Watson sign-and-trade is not currently in the cards. Even so, the possibility is not dead in the strictest sense, with anything still technically on the table before the start of the 2026-27 season.
For now, though, the Pelinka-Watson courtside exchange is the kind of moment that will keep drawing attention.
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Lakers Just Made A Strange Luka-Connected Move Mavericks Fans Will Notice
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For Lakers fans, it is mostly administrative. For anyone around the Luka Doni orbit, it is the kind of small transaction that gets noticed because of the names attached to it, especially with Dudley having moved on from the Lakers and into coaching after his retirement. The list also included a handful of other familiar veterans, a reminder that teams sometimes spend as much time untangling old rights as they do chasing the next move. [Read more 🡒]