Lakers president: Pelinka will continue leading basketball operations

Los Angeles Lakers president of business operations Lon Rosen confirmed that Rob Pelinka will remain in his role as general manager and president of basketball operations.

Rosen added that Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and special advisor Farhan Zaidi will continue to be part of the Lakers' braintrust after the team brought in the two executives several months ago.

"I just run the business side, Rob's empowered to do what he does," Rosen said Tuesday, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "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."

Speculation about Pelinka's future with the Lakers arose after Mark Walter finalized his $10 billion purchase of the franchise in October. L.A. also remained relatively quiet during the NBA trade deadline, further fuelling speculation that the club could look for a fresh start with a new GM.

However, Pelinka clarified after the trade deadline that he, Walter, and minority owner Jeanie Buss were aligned in their decision-making.

"The three of us are working really, really strongly and well together," Pelinka said earlier in February, according to The Athletic's Dan Woike. "It's also been great to have, you know, outside allies and advocates, looking at the Dodgers and the success they've had and what they've built over there and being able to tap into a person like Andrew Friedman for best practices."

Rosen left his role with the reigning World Series champion Dodgers to join the Lakers last week, taking over for the retiring Tim Harris. The 67-year-old executive served as Magic Johnson's longtime agent before moving to the Dodgers' front office in 2012 as their executive vice president and chief marketing officer. While Rosen will still have some responsibilities with the MLB club, he said Tuesday that he'll spend most of his time with the Lakers.

L.A. faces a pivotal offseason, with the team expected to add pieces around star Luka Doncic. Future Hall of Famer LeBron James is also set become an unrestricted free agent this summer and hasn't indicated whether he'll return for a record-setting 24th season.