LOS ANGELES — Rob Pelinka promised additions were coming to the Lakers front office. During his end-of-season press conference, the Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager said that the franchise was in the interview process to hire two assistant general managers.
Now, the first of two expected positions has been filled. The Lakers announced Tuesday morning that they hired former New Orleans Pelicans vice president of strategy and basketball operations Rohan Ramadas as the franchise’s assistant general manager of strategy and data systems.
Pelinka said two weeks ago that one assistant GM would fill a salary cap, analytics and data-focused role, while the other would be primarily focused on scouting, the NBA draft and player evaluation. Ramadas, a former science-minded engineer having worked more than a decade for Aerospace Corporation in a variety of positions from 2012 to 2024 assisting the United States Space Force and NASA, fits the former description. The Lakers say Ramadas’ role will oversee “basketball analytics and strategic initiatives for basketball operations.”
“Rohan is an important and strong addition to our front office as we further build out our basketball operations resources,” Pelinka said in a press release. “His unique blend of career experiences and analytical expertise will further strengthen the strong work already taking place internally within our data analytics and salary cap management teams.”
Ramadas worked for the Pelicans for seven years as an analytics consultant before joining the front office in an executive position as senior director of analytics and innovation, and also worked as a draft analyst with the Miami Heat for the 2016-17 season. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from USC in astronautical engineering.
The assistant general manager revamp is a part of the Lakers’ evolution under controlling owner Mark Walter – continuing the link between the Dodgers, their “brother-sister organization,” as Pelinka called it.
Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and special advisor Farhan Zaidi – who previously served as the Dodgers general manager, as well as president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants – have been involved in the Lakers’ reorganization since Walter bought the majority stake of the franchise from governor Jeanie Buss.
On the business side of the Lakers, President of Business Operations Lon Rosen jumped from the Dodgers where he served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer since 2012 under Guggenheim Baseball Management’s ownership, which Walter leads. Rosen replaced longtime Lakers executive Tim Harris in the position.
Ramadas is the first assistant general manager under Pelinka since Jesse Buss was fired in November along with his brother, Joey Buss, the team’s former alternate governor and vice president of research and development.