Lakers announce hiring of Rohan Ramadas as assistant GM

“Rohan is an important and strong addition to our front office as we further build out our basketball operations resources,” Pelinka said in a statement. “His unique blend of career experiences and analytical expertise will further strengthen the strong work already taking place internally within our data analytics and salary cap management teams.”

ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and Shams Charania first reported the hiring.

Ramadas joined the Pelicans in September 2024 as senior director of analytics and innovation before being promoted to vice president of strategy and operations last year.

Before entering the NBA, Ramadas spent more than 12 years with The Aerospace Corporation, giving him a background that one Pelicans source described to ESPN as “a literal rocket scientist.”

According to ESPN, Ramadas helped implement AI systems and coded analytical models to assist New Orleans’ basketball operations department.

The move comes after Pelinka said at his season-ending press conference that the Lakers planned to hire two assistant general managers — one focused on scouting and player development, and another specializing in strategy, analytics and salary-cap management.

The Lakers reportedly met with multiple candidates during the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago before deciding on Ramadas.