Lakers' Rob Pelinka Talks Kobe Bryant HOF Induction, NBA Season Resuming

Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka joins NBA fans in hoping the 2019-20 season will return from its current hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"I can say definitively that all of us hope there's a way to have an NBA champion crowned," Pelinka said Wednesday on a conference call.

He emphasized the No. 1 priority is the health and safety of everyone involved.

The NBA was first suspended March 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. Nearly a month later, there is still limited information about when or if the season will resume.

Commissioner Adam Silver said Monday he won't make a decision until at least May 1.

Even if there is a long delay, the Lakers would want to push for some sort of postseason this year. After six straight years without a playoff berth, the team held the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and was considered a top contender for an NBA title.

Pelinka likely wants his team to have a chance to show what it could do.

In the meantime, the players have stayed connected during social distancing through Zoom workouts.

"This is a team that just loved being together whether it was on the bench, on the bus, in the locker room. These guys just have a great chemistry of being together," Pelinka said. "So they've tried to stay as connected as possible in the ways they can, working out together virtually."

The 50-year-old also spoke Monday about Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who will be posthumously inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in August.

"It was a moment full of mixed emotions," he said of Bryant's selection to the Hall. "All of us are heartbroken he couldn't be there to receive that honor in person. But I have a level of confidence he is with us in spirit and is celebrating that."

Pelinka was a longtime friend of Bryant—who died in a helicopter crash in January—and worked as his agent before joining the Lakers front office in 2017.