Rob Pelinka: Tony Bennett Has Been Invaluable Addition To Lakers Front Office

Under new ownership, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to gain any advantage they can, and one way to do that is by adding to their front office.

One of their recent additions was bringing on former Virginia head coach Tony Bennett as a draft advisor to Rob Pelinka. And with the 2026 NBA Draft around the corner in June, Pelinka spoke about how important that addition has been.

“Tony Bennett has been an invaluable addition to our Draft and scouting processes,” Pelinka said at his end-of-year press conference. “What he built at UVA was really, really special. Tony has said he never, ever, wants to coach again. That chapter in his life is 100% over. But having the mind of a builder and coach in our Draft department with our scouts has been incredibly special. So what an addition.”

Bennett is obviously very familiar with the college game and players, giving Pelinka a valuable resource heading into the draft. The Lakers have missed on some of their recent picks, so the hope is that Bennett can get them back to regularly finding gems, as was the case before the last few years.

In addition to Bennett, the Lakers are also currently on the search for a pair of assistant general managers to work under Pelinka.

Rob Pelinka stresses importance of player development to Lakers’ success

Under the rules of the new CBA, it is tougher to build a contender through free agency and trades than it used to be. Because of that, Pelinka is stressing the importance of player development to the Lakers’ success.

“I think in this salary cap system, player development is going to be a huge thing to lean into for success ultimately,” Pelinka said. “We’ve seen that. I think you could look at veteran players that have come here and developed. I’ll use Rui as an example. When we traded for him, and who he is now, he’s a different player. That’s a testament to JJ’s player development, staff, I see coach Bo sitting here, he’s poured in so much.

“So I think there can be development of veteran players too that are still young. I think we have Adou Thiero as another example. Had some bumps with his health this year but once he got healthy, JJ trusted him enough to put him in a playoff series, and got some big rebounds and made some big plays. Those are just examples. We have to continue to find young talent and develop them.”