Lakers Make Another Move to Shake Up Front Office

The new ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers continues to make moves to shake up the front office, as Mark Walter and company aim to mold the franchise after the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On Wednesday, the Lakers announced that the team has hired Michael Spetner, formerly of the Dodgers' vice president of business strategy and analytics, as the new chief strategy and growth officer.

Lakers have named Michael Spetner as chief strategy and growth officer: pic.twitter.com/tnXYiC6E0y
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) March 4, 2026

"As we look to redefine what's possible across the sports landscape for fans and partners, we will build on the Lakers legacy and orient toward the future to consider what's next," said Los Angeles Lakers President of Business Operations Lon Rosen. "Michael's leadership will help us optimize our business to ensure long-term value."

It's becoming very clear that Walter is wasting no time reshaping the team's front office, as he continues to bring in people from the Dodgers to help sustain the Lakers' franchise success for the foreseeable future.

Before they brought in Spetner on Wednesday, the Lakers made some changes, with Tim Harris stepping down from his post recently and getting replaced by Lon Rosen as the new president of business operations. Rosen appears to have a substantial role with the team, as the changes continue in the Walter era of the Lakers.

The Lakers also recently brought in Tony Bennett to serve as the team's NBA Draft advisor, which is an interesting move given his perspective on the college basketball world and his success as the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers.

Along with the additions of Spetner and Bennett, Rosen recently addressed the media, letting it be known what the future holds for longtime general manager Rob Pelinka and whether Magic Johnson would have a role with the team moving forward.

“Rob’s empowered to do what he does,” Rosen said. “And he’s talked about it and I can talk about it. Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi, they have involvement helping Rob a bit. It gives you a deeper bench, and I think Rob appreciates that. And it is unique. But they have a skill set that they can transfer some of it here. And that’s really how we look at it. Look, I have a really good relationship with Rob. I’ve known Rob Pelinka from when he was representing Kobe (Bryant). I met him many many years ago.”

Rosen made it clear that Johnson will not have day-to-day involvement with the Lakers.

"Earvin is one of the most unique individuals I've known in my life, and he's one of my closest friends," Rosen said. "I've known him since we were both 19. Earvin's involved with all types of things. He owns football teams, baseball teams, soccer teams, insurance companies, a lot of things. 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. It's going to be no different since he left the Lakers."

It'll be interesting to see what other moves are in the works for the Lakers as Walter continues to make changes to the storied franchise.