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Rob Pelinka, Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of a major front office shakeup under new owner Mark Walter.

Former Virginia head coach Tony Bennett has already joined the organization as a draft advisor, with general manager Rob Pelinka describing him as an “invaluable addition to [the franchise’s] draft and scouting processes.”

On Monday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Lakers continue to reshape the front office with the hiring of former New Orleans Pelicans vice president of strategy and operations Rohan Ramadas as an assistant general manager.

Lakers Add Analytics-Focused Executive to Front Office

Ramadas will work directly under Pelinka, who also serves as the Lakers’ President of Basketball Operations.

According to Charania and ESPN colleague Dave McMenamin, Ramadas is expected to handle responsibilities similar to those he held with the Pelicans.

His focus will center heavily on strategy, with Pelinka previously explaining that the role would involve “[salary] cap, analytics and data.”

A Pelicans source told ESPN that Ramadas is “a literal rocket scientist” who “implemented AI and coded models to aid the front office.”

Before transitioning into the NBA, Ramadas spent more than a decade working for the Aerospace Corporation after graduating from the University of Southern California.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Ramadas worked at Aerospace Corporation for more than 12 years, initially serving as a Senior Member of Technical Staff in Guidance and Navigation between 2012 and 2017.

He later became Manager of Flight Controls before transitioning into a Senior Project Engineer role focused on Mission Design through 2024.

Charania and McMenamin also reported that Lakers executives have been conducting face-to-face interviews with front office candidates during the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago.

“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,” The Athletic’s Dan Woike added. “Both also attended draft prospect workouts held at the Lakers’ facility.”

“Both Dodgers executives have strong analytical backgrounds.”

LA Continue Broader Front Office Restructuring

During his end-of-season press conference, Pelinka confirmed that the organization planned to hire two assistant general managers as part of the front office restructure.

One position is expected to focus primarily on draft scouting and player development, while the other centers around strategy, salary cap management, analytics, and data.

“It’s not that we’ve had holes in those places,” Pelinka said. “We have a great team of people that works incredible hard. It’s just we want to add more to that.”

“For both those [assistant general manager] positions, we have started a wide search and have begun interviews but haven’t hired out either of those.”

HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto previously reported that the Lakers had shown interest in Minnesota Timberwolves assistant general manager Steve Senior and Philadelphia 76ers assistant general manager Prosper Karangwa during the process.

Miami Heat vice president of player personnel Eric Amsler and Utah Jazz vice president of player personnel Bart Taylor have also reportedly been among the candidates considered by Los Angeles.

Scotto later added that Senior declined the Lakers’ offer to remain in Minnesota, while Karangwa has drawn interest from several teams around the league.

Ramadas is expected to fill the Lakers’ strategic, analytical, and financial assistant general manager role, while the player development and draft scouting position remains open as the organization continues its search.