Lakers president Rob Pelinka, pictured, continued reshaping the franchise’s leadership structure with the addition of Rohan Ramadas. Gary A. Vasquez / Getty Images
As part of an expanding front office, the Los Angeles Lakers have hired Rohan Ramadas as assistant general manager, according to league sources.
Ramadas previously worked for the New Orleans Pelicans as senior director of analytics before being promoted to vice president of basketball operations and strategy.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Ramadas spent 12 years in aerospace engineering, his field of study at USC. League sources familiar with Ramadas praised his intelligence.
Following the Lakers’ second-round playoff exit, president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said the team would be hiring two assistant general managers this offseason — one with a background in player scouting and one with expertise in analytics.
“A lot of the infrastructure is being built. I’ll be headed to the combine. We will continue to staff out with assistant general manager positions,” he said. “There’s a couple of those that we’re currently interviewing for and have done an extensive dive in that process. Those will be two key pillars that we’ll add for this offseason.”
According to league sources, Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and Dodgers special advisor Farhan Zaidi participated in interviews for the assistant general manager openings. Both also attended draft prospect workouts held at the Lakers’ facility.
Both Dodgers executives have strong analytical backgrounds.
The Lakers’ front office build-out comes as the team enters a pivotal offseason. LeBron James is an unrestricted free agent, while Austin Reaves is expected to decline his player option and become a free agent, as well. Rui Hachimura is a free agent, as is Jaxson Hayes. Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton both hold player options and could enter free agency.
And while the team performed well last season, there is pressure for the organization to begin building an optimized roster around star Luka Dončić, as The Athletic previously reported.
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