Fresh Lakers Rumors on Rob Pelinka's Front Office Changes and Financial Gain of G League Move

Where an NBA franchise stations its G League affiliate may seem like small potatoes, but the Los Angeles Lakers' decision to relocate theirs could have a domino effect.

The South Bay Lakers are now the Coachella Valley Lakers, with their operations moving from El Segundo to Thousand Palms, California, for the 2026-27 season.

The Athletic's Dan Woike and Sam Amick reported the move should "be a financial win for the team."

"The added revenue, league sources believe, will be used in part to fund a growing infrastructure in personnel, scouting and medical departments," per the report. "Pelinka is expected to add at least one assistant general manager while building out a pro scouting department that the Lakers haven't had since parting ways with pro personnel man Ryan West in 2019."

There will be some trade-offs, though.

The Lakers and their G League peers shared a practice facility, the UCLA Health Training Center. Now, the G League team will be situated a couple hours to the east. El Segundo's close proximity to Los Angeles International Airport was another advantage that's gone.

Woike and Amick wrote that having NBA and G League players train in the same facility "was a persuasive recruiting tool" because teams would sign with South Bay knowing they'd get some face time with Lakers coaches and officials.

"The Lakers will also likely lose the ability for rehabbing veteran players to easily practice with the G League team," per The Athletic. "Earlier this season, James' final steps before his season debut came in practices with the Lakers' G League team."

Having their G League team in the Coachella Valley instead of El Segundo isn't going to be a decisive factor in whether the Lakers win a title. Still, marginal gains go a long way, and championship-winning organizations often nail a lot of the small details.

Pelinka is clearly betting that having a better staff around him will outweigh what the Lakers gained by working in tandem with their G League squad.