The Los Angeles Lakers have made a number of front office hires ever since Mark Walter purchased a majority share of the franchise several months ago. Most recently, they hired Rohan Ramadas, who previously served as the New Orleans Pelicans’ vice president of basketball operations and strategy, to be an assistant general manager and handle the salary cap, analytics and data.
On the other hand, the Lakers also reportedly laid off a sizable number of employees on Wednesday as part of the revamping of the organization, per ESPN.
“The Los Angeles Lakers informed more than a dozen employees Wednesday they were being laid off as part of a reorganization under new franchise leadership, a source familiar with the situation told ESPN,” wrote Dave McMenamin.
“… The layoffs Wednesday affected various departments including marketing, team communications, team content and corporate partnerships, sources told ESPN.”
For many years, under both the late Dr. Jerry Buss and his daughter Jeanie Buss, the Lakers had been run akin to a small family business. That modus operandi had drawn lots of criticism from fans and media alike, but it appears those days are over.
In addition to multiple hires that have been made on the business side, the Lakers have brought in Tony Bennett, one of the more successful basketball coaches in NCAA history, to be a draft consultant. According to general manager and president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, they will hire one additional assistant general manager.
They had already begun to invest more resources into the development of young players and strengthening their relationship with their G League affiliate over the last year or two. In addition, Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi, both of whom played big roles in helping Walter’s Los Angeles Dodgers win three of the last six World Series championships, have been working with the Purple and Gold in recent months in advisory roles.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: ESPN: Lakers have laid off more than a dozen team employees
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
