Lakers Appoint Former Virginia Coach Tony Bennett NBA Draft Advisor

The Los Angeles Lakers continue to undergo drastic changes following the Buss family's recent sale of the storied franchise to Mark Walter for a record-setting $10 billion.

Following Lon Rosen taking over for Tim Harris as the new president of business operations, the Lakers announced on Wednesday another change, bringing in former Virginia head coach Tony Bennett to be the team’s NBA Draft advisor.

Lakers Hire Tony Bennett as NBA Draft Advisor

Lakers announced they've named Tony Bennett as NBA Draft advisor pic.twitter.com/oD87WDdmb1
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) February 25, 2026

In the press release announcing Bennett’s role with the team, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka made the following statement.

"We're thrilled and honored to welcome Tony as an advisor to the Lakers basketball operations department,” Pelinka said of Bennett. “As we refine and build out our NBA draft and scouting processes, we could think of no better basketball mind than Tony Bennett to have as a resource. Tony's track record of forming culture, with high-character, high-skill and high-IQ players is revered and respected across all basketball circles. Tony will be an incredible asset to our basketball leadership, to our scouts and to our draft department as a whole. We are truly excited."

Bennett, who put together an impressive head-coaching resume during his time with Virginia and Washington State, explained why he chose to join the Lakers organization.

"When Rob and I began talking, what stood out to me was the chance to help out such a storied organization,” Bennett said. “The Lakers carry a tradition that speaks for itself, so to be connected to it and assist Rob and the Lakers in any way I can is exciting."

Magic Johnson Won’t Have ‘Day-to-Day Involvement’ With Lakers

Magic Johnson Los Angeles Lakers — Feb 22, 2026; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Magic Johnson at unveiling of statue of former Los Angeles Lakers coach Pat Riley at the Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Earlier this week, Rosen revealed whether Magic Johnson would have a role with the Lakers moving forward.

“He's always going to have some type of involvement with all the teams, but he is not going to have a day-to-day involvement,” Rosen said of Johnson. “It's going to be no different since he left the Lakers.

"Obviously, he's a huge fan of the Lakers, but he's not going to be, 'Hey Rob, go sign this player. Do that.' He'll always be involved with all the teams that he's involved in, but no, he's not going to have day-to-day involvement, at all. He is a super Laker fan and he'll continue to be a super Laker fan. It's not bad to have that."

Clearly, the Lakers’ brass isn’t wasting any time making changes, and more are likely to be on the horizon, as the team tries to model its front office after the Los Angeles Dodgers to begin the Watler era.