Lakers reportedly hire rocket scientist Rohan Ramadas as new assistant general manager under Rob Pelinka

The Los Angeles Lakers are bringing in someone with an analytical mind to work with general manager Rob Pelinka. The team reportedly hired New Orleans Pelicans vice president of strategy and operations Rohan Ramadas as its new assistant general manager under Pelinka, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Ramadas has quite the work history. He spent the past two years in a full-time role with the Pelicans, getting promoted from senior director of analytics and innovation to vice president of strategy and operations after just one year. Prior to that, he spent eight seasons with the Pelicans as an analytics consultant.

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Previously, Ramadas spent time in both the NBA and working on projects at NASA. During the 2016-17 NBA season, he served as a draft analyst with the Miami Heat. But he has also spent over a decade “supporting the Aerospace Corporation, U.S. Space Force, and NASA as a rocket guidance, navigation, control, and mission design engineer,” per the Pelicans.

“He’s a literal rocket scientist,” a source told ESPN.

The Lakers find themselves entering a crucial offseason. With LeBron James a free agent, the team has an opportunity to reshape its roster under Luka Dončić. While it’s possible James returns to the franchise, the team could also prioritize getting younger as Dončić becomes the face of the franchise.

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Given Ramadas’ previous roles, it’s likely he’ll help the team develop more statistical and analytical models moving forward. Pelinka confirmed that would be the case during exit interviews, when he told reporters the assistant general manager role would focus on “cap, analytics and data,” per ESPN.

With the Pelicans, Ramadas built AI models that aimed to assist the front office.

In addition to Ramadas’ hiring, the Lakers are looking to hire another assistant general manager, per ESPN, one who will focus more on the draft.

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Author : Chris Cwik

Publish date : 2026-05-25 14:42:00

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