The future of the Los Angeles Lakers front office obviously won’t be much different than the past, save for a few additions from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Lakers’ recently hired president of business operations, Lon Rosen, told reporters on Tuesday that the team’s plan is to keep general manager Rob Pelinka in charge of basketball operations, The Athletic’s Dan Woike reported.
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Pelinka re-signed with the Lakers last April and was given the title of president of basketball operations.
In addition, Dodgers minority owner and former Lakers star Magic Johnson will once again be involved in the team’s operations, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported. However, it is reported that Johnson, who previously served as the Lakers’ president of basketball operations with Pelinka, will not receive the title this time.
Rosen, who was hired after serving as the Dodgers’ longtime chief marketing officer, also confirmed that Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and special adviser Farhan Zaidi will provide input to Pelinka. The moves come after Dodgers majority owner Mark Walter purchased the Lakers.
Magic Johnson will return to the Lakers in an unspecified capacity. (David Santiago/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
(Miami Herald via Getty Images)
Pelinka said earlier this month, via The California Post, that the Lakers’ front office will expand and the Dodgers will become a vision committee:
“When Mark bought this team, Jenny and I had a deep conversation with him about areas where he wanted to grow and get into and be more aggressive,” Pelinka told a handful of reporters before Saturday’s home game against the Golden State Warriors. “Again, looking at the Dodgers and how they’ve built it is a great example and north star. So, we’re still going through the process of what the offseason will look like and what additions we’ll make. But there will be some positive changes and we’ll be building again under the leadership of me and Jenny, with the support of Mark.”
It’s not surprising that Walter brought some of his Dodgers brain trust to the Lakers when he took over. Since 2017, the Dodgers have either won 100 games or reached the World Series every season under Friedman and have won three championships. The Lakers also won a championship under Pelinka, but they’ve only advanced past the first round once since.
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Obviously, what works best in baseball won’t 100% apply to basketball, but some parts of organizational management may translate.
All of this comes on the eve of what could be an eventful summer for the Lakers, with LeBron James set to hit free agency and Giannis Antetokounmpo potentially being traded.
