Profitable an 18th championship has felt like rocket science for the Los Angeles Lakers, so why not rent one to finish that job?
ESPN NBA reporters Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin reported Monday that the Lakers employed Rohan Ramadas as assistant normal supervisor below president and GM Rob Pelinka. His background differs from that of most sports activities executives.
Who’s Rohan Ramadas, and can he assist the Lakers win one other title?
Ramadas spent the previous two seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans, serving as a vice chairman of basketball operations and technique final season and senior director of analytics and innovation the season earlier than. Nonetheless, he did not begin in sports activities. After graduating from the College of Southern California, Ramadas labored at The Aerospace Company from July 2012 to September 2024.
“He is a literal rocket scientist,” a Pelicans supply instructed Charania and McMenamin.
So, Ramadas is wise sufficient to launch a rocket. However is he the basketball thoughts who can launch the Lakers again into the championship stratosphere?
The Pelicans had been among the many worst groups within the league over the previous two seasons, posting a 47-117 file. Attribute the shedding to questionable front-office strikes, together with buying and selling the draft rights for Atlanta Hawks ahead Asa Newell and choose No. 8 within the 2026 NBA Draft for heart Derik Queen through the 2025 draft.
Queen, who made the 2025-26 All-Rookie second group, flashed promise however has but to show he is well worth the draft capital the Pelicans gave up. He averaged 11.7 factors per sport in 81 video games this previous season and began in 48 of these contests.
Like many roster transactions, it is unclear how a lot say Ramadas had within the transfer. For what it is price, his position with the Pelicans did not appear to contain personnel choices. He established AI and coded fashions to help the entrance workplace. It appears like he could do extra of the identical in L.A.
“Extra on the technique facet,” Pelinka said of Ramadas’ job description throughout his end-of-season information convention on Might 12. “Cap analytics and knowledge.”
Pelinka plans to rent one other assistant GM to deal with “participant draft and analysis processes.”
Ramadas’ place with the group seems to give attention to the wage cap, however that is nonetheless a vital position. L.A. should reply a number of contract questions this offseason, together with whether or not to re-sign ahead LeBron James and whether or not to do the identical with guard Austin Reaves if he enters free company. Reaves can decline his $14.9M participant possibility earlier than the June 29 deadline to take action.
If Ramadas navigates these conditions successfully, he might assist the Lakers plot a championship trajectory. L.A. fell in need of that focus on this previous season, shedding to the Oklahoma City Thunder within the second spherical of the playoffs.
