With Magic Johnson now the president of basketball operations for the Los Angeles Lakers, much of the focus has been who the franchise will bring in fill out the front office. The Lakers do, however, also have some very promising people already in the organization.
One of those people is assistant general manager Ryan West who is certainly taking on more of a role with no general manager for the time being. Magic mentioned West by name in his interview on Mason and Ireland on ESPN LA, via Shahan Ahmed of NBC LA:
Magic Johnson sounds like he's keeping Ryan West: "Thank god we got a great scouting team with Ryan West leading it." on ESPNLA.
— Shahan Ahmed (@shahanLA) February 21, 2017
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical went so far as to say that West will be a significant part of the new front office regime:
Lakers assistant general manager Ryan West has a strong relationship and history with Pelinka, and would likely be considered a significant part of a new front-office regime, league sources said.
The Lakers have been accused of being out of touch and stuck in their ways at times so having younger people who understand the new era of the NBA is extremely important. By all accounts, West is a very bright person who is excellent at his job.
Jesse Buss, another one of the younger Buss siblings, is also someone who has been mentioned as one of the bright young voices who is already in the organization.
Who will ultimately fill out the front office remains to be seen, but rumors have been constant that agent Rob Pelinka is the front-runner to become the next general manager. This is a new era for the Lakers franchise with Magic in charge. It will be interesting to see who all makes up the front office once things settle down.
