The Los Angeles Lakers are aiming to model their front office after the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers following Mark Walter’s purchase of the team in October.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka detailed the team’s relationship with Walter, who also owns the Dodgers, and the MLB franchise following Saturday’s win against the Golden State Warriors.
“[It’s] 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 Andrew Friedman for best practices,” Pelinka said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
Pelinka added: “When Mark bought the team, Jeanie and I did a really deep dive with him on sort of the areas he wants to grow and move into and get aggressive. 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.”
One of those changes is “hoping to mimic the Dodgers’ draft process and farm system structure,” per McMenamin.
Pelinka’s comments come after The Athletic’s Dan Woike reported on the Lakers’ interest in modeling their front office after the Dodgers, with one rival executive saying, “It’s going to be scary.”
The Lakers didn’t make a major splash prior to Thursday’s trade deadline, but sent guard Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for sharpshooter Luke Kennard.
While Los Angeles is currently chasing a playoff spot, it’ll also focus on finding the right long-term pieces to surround Luka Dončić with as the team attempts to be a perennial contender in the Western Conference.
In Oct. 2025, the Buss family agreed to sell their majority ownership stake in the Lakers to Mark Walter at a $10 billion valuation.
NBA insider Jovan Buha later reported that after the sale, Los Angeles planned to build out its scouting department as well as the rest of its front office to be “competitive with the other top front offices” in the league (h/t SI.com’s Andrew Hughes).
While the future of Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka following the expected changes is unknown, it’s worth noting that he signed a contract extension with the organization in April 2025. He was also given the title of president of basketball operations in addition to his general manager role.
The Lakers currently sit at No. 5 in the West standings with a 31-19 record.