LOS ANGELES — In his first media availability with reporters since the sale of the majority ownership of the Lakers from the Buss family to Mark Walter, the franchise’s president of basketball operations/general manager Rob Pelinka acknowledged there will be an expansion of the organization’s front office personnel.
And he mentioned that he and Jeanie Buss, the franchise’s governor and former majority owner, will lead the process in additions to come.
“When Mark bought the team, Jeanie and I did a deep dive with him on sort of the areas he wants to grow, move into and get aggressive,” Pelinka said to a handful of beat reporters ahead of Saturday’s home game against the Golden State Warriors. “And again, looking at the Dodgers and how they built it out has been a great sort of example and North Star. And so we’re still going through that process of how we’ll look in the offseason and what additions we’ll make. But there will be some positive changes and we will build things out, again, led by myself and Jeanie, and with Mark’s support.”
Walter, who’s also the majority of the Dodgers, agreed to terms to buy a majority stake of the Lakers last summer and officially became the majority owner in late October.
The Dodgers have appeared in five World Series and won three, including being reigning back-to-back champions, since Walter and the Guggenheim Baseball Management group Walter leads purchased the franchise in 2012.
“Mark Walter establishes an incredible standard of excellence and he has been really enjoyable to collaborate with,” Pelinka said. “Jeanie and I have had several amazing conversations with him and keep him informed on all the details. And so the three of us are working really, really strongly and well together. And it’s also been great to have sort of outside allies and advocates.
“Looking at the Dodgers and the success they’ve had and what they’ve built over there, and being able to tap into a person like [Dodgers president of baseball operations] Andrew Friedman for best practices. He’s so incredibly smart and has done such an amazing job bringing championships to the Dodgers. To have like another head of another team that you can – whether it’s a roster move, whether it’s a staff move – just someone that you can talk to has been an incredible resource.”
As part of the sale, Buss will remain the Lakers governor for “at least five years”, according to the NBA.
Pelinka and coach JJ Redick also received contract extensions in 2025 before the sale was official, with Pelinka being promoted from vice president of basketball operations to president. Redick’s extension keeps him under contract with the Lakers through the 2029-30 season.
The Lakers made several front office/scouting terminations earlier in the season, including firing Joey and Jesse Buss, Jeanie’s younger siblings. In addition to having ownership stakes in the franchise, Joey Buss was the organization’s vice president of research and development, while Jesse was an assistant general manager and director of scouting.
Friedman and Farhan Zaidi, with the latter being the Dodgers former general manager and current special advisor, began advisory roles with the Lakers in the fall.
“Just their draft process and sort of how they’ve established their farm system is amazing,” Pelinka said of how the Lakers can learn from the Dodgers’ success. “There’s best practices in that as we evolve and get better going forward in those areas. And then just the way they’ve sort of built out their front office, how deep it is. There is no expense they’ll spare in being the best sort of front office in the world. And you could just see that in the way they operate. And we’ve done a really good job here, Jeanie’s been incredibly supportive, but I think now we’ll have an opportunity just with extra resources that Mark brings to build it out and become even better. So that’s going to be an exciting thing for us in the offseason that Jeanie and I will lead. And we’re excited about that.”
In addition to the new ownership change, Pelinka also addressed the addition of Luke Kennard ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, calling Kennard, “the game’s best shooter.”
With the Lakers having one standard roster spot open, they can sign a free agent or convert one of their two-way players to a standard contract.
“We are in sort of active conversations with some players that are available now, doing our due diligence,” Pelinka said. “Players down the road could come in through the buyout market. So we are evaluating that 15th roster spot and at some point probably will likely fill it.”
