Josh Hart leaves Rob Pelinka out of farewell message to Lakers

Josh Hart posted a farewell message to the Los Angeles Lakers over the weekend, but one name was noticeably absent from it.

The 24-year-old guard took to social media on Saturday to bid adieu to the team following his trade to the New Orleans Pelicans in the Anthony Davis deal. While Hart thanked his teammates, the fans, as well as Jeanie Buss and Magic Johnson by name specifically, he did not mention GM Rob Pelinka.

View this post on Instagram

I want to thank the Laker organization, Jeanie Buss and Magic Johnson for taking a chance on me and believing in me. To my teammates thank you for teaching me how to play and grow in this league. To the fans….THANK YOU! Thank you for embracing me and for supporting me through all the ups and downs! One of the best fan bases in the league. It was a dream come true to wear the purple and gold! It’s always love on this side but now N.O. “Let’s dance”

A post shared by Josh Hart (@jhart) on Jun 22, 2019 at 10:33am PDT

Pelinka, who was the architect behind the Davis blockbuster trade, had his relationship with Hart called into question last month by a Baxter Holmes ESPN feature. The feature revealed that Pelinka had supposedly gone to Hart for intel about Hart’s fellow Villanova product Omari Spellman prior to last year’s draft and went on to leak some of the negatives that Hart had disclosed.

Omari Spellman is mentioned in this story about the Lakers' dysfunction from @Baxter. Spellman was expected to be the pick at 25 because he was the BPA on their draft board. Scouts and execs were shocked when he wasn't announced as the pick. https://t.co/SVdYv6EuYh pic.twitter.com/pYSSfJMEir

— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) May 28, 2019

Hart does seem very pleased about his move to New Orleans, but it wouldn’t be a shock if Pelinka’s omission from his farewell message was on purpose.