The Lakers and Rob Pelinka’s free-agency plans center on continuity

Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka presided over a formality Tuesday — the introduction to the media of the team’s two draft picks.

Sitting with Maxwell Lewis and Jalen Hood-Schifino to his left in the center of the team’s El Segundo facility, Pelinka praised the duo’s character, their respect for the Lakers’ history and the team’s stars, and their short- and long-term potential.

“Super exciting day for us to try and introduce Jalen and Maxwell,” he said at the start of his comments. “Really, it’s the culmination of a lot of work by our scouting staff and by our front office to identify the top talent in the draft. … And came out of it with two players that we had ranked high in our first round.”

It’s what you do when you select players in the draft — you fly them into town, you say nice things about them and you pose for photos.

On Friday, Pelinka will preside over a more important event for the Lakers — the start of free agency — but from the sounds of things, it too is shaping up more as a formality than it ever has since the team added LeBron James in 2018.

Since then the roster has been in severe churn, first through a trade for Anthony Davis and later in an attempt to create another maximum-salary slot. The following summer, changes were made as the team tried to add talent in the hopes of repeating as champions.

Read more: Lakers’ draft picks Jalen Hood-Schifino, Maxwell Lewis channel ‘Mamba Mentality’

After injuries derailed that plan, the Lakers pushed all-in for Russell Westbrook and a slew of veterans on one-year deals. And last summer, after considering multiple options with Westbrook, the team rebuilt itself around younger, higher-upside role players while bringing in a…