The Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Lakers both won a championship in 2020, but the teams have been on different trajectories since that point.

After years of falling short with LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the team, the Lakers traded the All-Star big man in February 2025 to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Luka Doncic. Doncic’s arrival brought about renewed hope for the storied NBA franchise.

That was also the case with news of the Lakers being sold to Dodgers owner Mark Walter. Given the success the Dodgers franchise has enjoyed under the Guggenheim Baseball Management ownership group, there is a belief Walter can help restore the Lakers.

While Walter has yet to make his full imprint on the Lakers, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and special advisor Farhan Zaidi already started to lend their assistance.

Rob Pelinka inspired by Dodgers front office

Regardless of how the rest of the NBA season unfolds for the Lakers, change in their front office is afoot.

President of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka praised the Dodgers for having a robust front office and suggested the Lakers would look to mirror that approach, perDave McMenamin of ESPN.

“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,” Pelinka said. “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.”

Pelinka said the Lakers would follow the Dodgers’ lead, and he plans to hire executives around him.

“[The Dodgers], 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,” Pelinka said.

Although Walter has become the new owner of the Lakers, he agreed to keep Jeanie Buss in her current role as governor of the team for multiple seasons. Pelinka has suggested he too will remain at the helm of the Lakers’ front office.

Despite that confidence, Pelinka’s future with the team could be in some doubt if Walter is convinced a change in that role is necessary in order for the Lakers to improve. Though, Walter did keep Ned Colletti as Dodgers general manager through the 2014 season despite purchasing the team in 2012.

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