About three weeks after Mark Walter agreed to sell his majority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, and about two weeks after five of the six Buss siblings agreed to sell their 17.8% minority stake in the team to Kushner and Iger, there is no resolution in the Lakers' ownership saga.
While the team's players are continuing to get ready for the upcoming NBA season following Luka Doncic's minicamp in Slovenia, there is some uncertainty in the front office about what will happen. Dan Woike of The Athletic recently wrote that sources in the front office have some optimism about Kushner and Iger coming in, but there is much work to be done.
Since Walter bought his majority share from the Buss siblings this past October, the Lakers
have filled out their front office by making multiple hires for important positions. According to Woike, while there may not be an actual "hiring freeze" taking place amidst the franchise's ownership saga, there also isn't much progress being made in terms of continuing to fill out the front office.
"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."
Among the important hires the Lakers have made in recent months are Rohan Ramadas, who is now an assistant general manager in charge of analytics and managing the salary cap, and Tony Bennett, a successful former college basketball coach who is their draft advisor. Lon Rosen, who had previously worked for the Lakers years ago, was also brought in to be their president of business operations.
General manager Rob Pelinka said a few months ago that the organization would hire two assistant general managers. It reportedly interviewed multiple people for that second assistant GM role, only to have those candidates say no.
According to a recent report, those who interviewed for that role were "left confused about the process."
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Woike: High-end Lakers front office positions aren't being filled
