LOS ANGELES – Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said the organization will mirror the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers when it comes to the structuring of its front office.
The Lakers have what’s regarded as one of the NBA’s leanest front offices, with needs in scouting, analytics, biomechanics and other areas. The Lakers are expected to begin addressing those needs this offseason.
Pelinka’s comments came Saturday when he discussed the team’s deadline acquisition of guard Luke Kennard for Gabe Vincent and a second-round pick.
“The baseball system and the NBA system are totally different in terms of how you can build a roster and what you can do to spend. That said, I think just their draft process and sort of how they’ve established their farm system is amazing. And I think there’s best practices in that as we evolve and get better going forward in those areas,” Pelinka said. “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.”
Pelinka said he stayed in communication with Mark Walter, who finalized his majority purchase of the Lakers on Oct. 30, Jeanie Buss and Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. Friedman and Pelinka recently spoke together at an event at Dodger Stadium, the ties binding Walter’s two premier Los Angeles franchises getting tighter.
“Mark Walter establishes an incredible standard of excellence, and he has been really enjoyable to collaborate with. I think Jeanie (Buss) 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,” Pelinka said. “And it’s also been great to have, you know, 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. He’s so incredibly smart and has done such an amazing job bringing championships to the Dodgers.
“So, just 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. It’s been tremendous working with Mark and everybody around him.”
Pelinka described the Lakers as “aggressive” at the deadline despite making the lone deal.
“We worked incredibly hard,” he said. “We evaluated numerous things. To your point, I can’t go into specific players or conversations with other GMs that would impede the trust of our business going forward. But we were super aggressive, had multiple conversations, had lots of them, got close on some things, but ended up making the move we made, and we feel good about it.”
Pelinka said the Lakers will likely fill their 15th roster spot at some point, whether it be through a bought-out player or by converting a two-way contract to a standard deal. Pelinka also said Luka Dončić’s hamstring injury, which kept him out of Saturday’s game against the Golden State Warriors, wasn’t a major one.
“One of his greatest qualities is when he has an injury or he’s unavailable for a game, he is deeply upset. He just — he can’t stand not playing basketball,” Pelinka said. “He loves the game so much and wants to play every night. And that’s an incredible quality. Just a player who’s like fighting and clawing to play versus looking for a reason maybe not to. So, we commend Luka for that. In terms of this injury, the good news is it doesn’t appear to be anything serious. It was a mild hamstring strain, and he is truly day-to-day.”