The business side of the Los Angeles Lakers has been hit with layoffs.
The Lakers informed more than a dozen employees on Wednesday that they were being laid off, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. The move is part of a reorganization under new franchise leadership.
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The layoffs reportedly impacted marketing, team communications, team content and corporate partnerships within the Lakers organization. Further specifics of the layoffs are not yet known.
The move is the latest that the Lakers have made on the business side since the league approved the team’s sale from the Buss family to businessman Mark Walter in October. Walter led a group that purchased the team at a $10 billion valuation. Lon Rosen was hired as the Lakers’ new president of business operations. He took over in the role for longtime president Tim Harris. Michael Spetner was brought in as the team’s new chief strategy and growth officer, and Ryan Kantor was hired as the team’s vice president of global partnerships. The team is planning to hire an additional assistant general manager in the near future, too, with a focus on “pro scouting, draft scouting and player development.”
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The Lakers also hired former New Orleans Pelicans executive Rohan Ramadas as a new assistant general manager earlier this month. Ramadas, along with spending time with both the Pelicans and Miami Heat, also spent over a decade working on projects at NASA.
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The Lakers went 53-29 this past season and made the playoffs for a fourth straight time, and the second under head coach JJ Redick. They were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals. The Lakers are entering an uncertain offseason this summer, too, especially around LeBron James as he prepares to enter free agency. There has been plenty of speculation that James could retire at the end of the year, which would make sense considering he’s both 41 years old and has accomplished just about everything possible throughout his career. James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game this season, his 23rd in the league.
James, however, has been non-committal about his future.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what the future holds for me, obviously as it stands right now, tonight,” James said after their season-ending loss.
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