At the beginning of the offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers made it known that building out the front office staff was a top priority. The franchise was expected to hire two assistant general managers to work under Rob Pelinka in addition to filling out the rest of the front office departments such as scouting, which have been far behind the rest of the league.
While some positions were filled, there are plenty of others that remain vacant and many believe that with the Lakers going through another ownership transition, there is a pause on staff hirings. However, some within the Lakers reportedly don’t believe there is a freeze on hiring staff, but simply feel that it wouldn’t make sense to make certain hires while in this stage, via Dan Woike of The Athletic:
But other sources, including high-ranking ones, have acknowledged that high-end positions, particularly in basketball operations, aren’t actively being filled. While some people in the organization push back on the notion that the Lakers are in a “hiring freeze,” multiple sources acknowledged that it would be foolish for the organization to make hires of consequence while in this strange moment of its history.
Conversations about a front-office build-out are ongoing, one source said, but it’s not fully clear how or when the lead of much-needed pro scouting staff will be installed.
There is just no way that this latest sale of the franchise to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner wouldn’t have effects throughout the organization. Something like the scouting staff is in need of being filled out, but the franchise as a whole must be locked in on one accord and making big hirings while not knowing exactly what the vision is under Iger and Kushner could do more damage overall.
With the continued turmoil between the Buss siblings and it being unclear whether Jeanie Buss will continue to operate as Lakers governor still ongoing, it seems as if the organization will have to make due with what is in place until certain things are finalized.
Lakers employees reportedly optimistic about new ownership
On the positive side, it does sound as if those within the Lakers are optimistic about the way things will work under Iger and Kushner. Some staff reportedly felt that the push to implement the Dodgers’ style under Mark Walter was a bit too much towards analytics while not caring for some of the arrogance that was apparently shown.
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