Pelinka stays: Rosen ensures stability in the Lakers

Lon Rosen: New Lakers President of Operations Envisions a Bright Future

Los Angeles – Lon Rosen, the new president of business operations for the Lakers, believes that there are more similarities than differences between the Dodgers and Lakers organizations, two important pillars in the Los Angeles sports market.

“I think the Lakers are a very successful group,” Rosen said Tuesday, speaking to a small group of reporters to make his first public comments since accepting the new position last week. “Let’s be real, there was a transaction a couple of months ago for the most amount of money you’ve ever seen in a transaction.”

Lon Rosen

Rosen, 67, who began his career as an intern for the Lakers before becoming an agent for Earvin “Magic” Johnson and, subsequently, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the Dodgers since 2012, projects stability by becoming the first high-profile employee to bridge the gap between the two franchises of owner Mark Walter. With the Lakers entering a crucial offseason with important decisions about the roster to surround 26-year-old superstar Luka Doncic with championship-level talent, Rosen made it clear that Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka will remain in his position and will be flanked by Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and Dodgers special advisor Farhan Zaidi.

“I just run the business side, Rob is empowered to do what he does,” Rosen said. “Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi have input helping Rob a little bit. It gives you a deeper bench, and I think Rob appreciates that. And it’s unique. But they have a skill set that can transfer here. And so that’s really how we look at it.”

Lon Rosen

Rosen was also asked about Johnson, the Lakers legend and former president of basketball operations, who abruptly resigned from his position in the front office along with Pelinka at the end of the 2018-19 season.

“Earvin is one of the most unique individuals I have ever known in my life, and he is one of my closest friends,” Rosen said. “I have known him since we were both 19 years old. Earvin is involved in all kinds of things. He owns football teams, baseball teams, soccer teams, insurance companies, many things. He will always have some kind of involvement with all the teams, but he will not have a daily involvement. It will not be different since he left the Lakers.”

Lon Rosen

Rosen then pointed to how Johnson served as the master of ceremonies at the halftime ceremony honoring the statue of Pat Riley, along with the “Showtime” Lakers, during the Lakers’ game against the Boston Celtics on Sunday as an example of Johnson’s continued presence. He also endorsed two long-standing business relationships that the Lakers must continue: their home court will remain Crypto.com Arena and their television home will remain Spectrum SportsNet.

“It’s a great building,” Rosen said of the former Staples Center, which opened its doors in 1999. “It’s very functional. I guess the fans like it, because they come here and sell it out, and they enjoy the atmosphere, eat the food, park their cars, so it’s a very efficient building.”

Lon Rosen

And on Spectrum SportsNet, its regional sports network rights holder since 2012: “I have a pretty unique seat, because I work with two teams that work with Spectrum. Look, Spectrum is a great partner”.

Rosen said he will still have some responsibilities with the Dodgers, but the “majority” of his time will be dedicated to the Lakers in the future. And he said that Doncic can improve the global footprint of the Lakers, in the same way that Shohei Ohtani has done for the Dodgers.

“We signed Shohei Ohtani, and the world turned to a business model,” Rosen said. “I think there is enormous growth potential for the Lakers internationally… and having Luka Doncic doesn’t hurt at all. I mean, he’s one of the most popular players in the world and we want to get on his shoulders and see what we can achieve there.”

Lon Rosen