Los Angeles Dodgers executives Farhan Zaidi and Andrew Friedman have reportedly begun working with the Los Angeles Lakers in an advisory role.
According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Dodgers owner Mark Walter, who was approved as the new owner of the Lakers last month, has utilized Zaidi as a “representative in helping with the transition” in Lakers ownership, while Friedman primarily consults with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka.
Zaidi is a special adviser with the Dodgers and Friedman is the team’s GM. With Friedman at the helm of the front office, the Dodgers have won two World Series in a row and three of the past six.
Walter purchased the Lakers from the Buss family at a $10 billion valuation, and although Walter is now the controlling owner, the Buss family has maintained a minority stake, and the team announced that Jeanie Buss will remain the Lakers’ governor “for the foreseeable future.”
Despite the Buss family continuing to have significant influence within the organization, the Lakers fired Jeanie’s younger brothers, Joey and Jesse Buss, from their roles as alternate governor and assistant general manager, respectively, on Thursday.
Per Shelburne, Walter created a company called TWG Sports under which the Lakers and Dodgers will both soon exist.
Zaidi and Friedman are senior executives of TWG Sports, which is partly why they were chosen to assist with the Lakers in addition to their duties with the Dodgers.
Shelburne noted that Zaidi has also been consulting with the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, who are under Walter’s ownership as well.
While the Dodgers have firmly established themselves as the cream of the crop in Major League Baseball, the Lakers are in search of their first NBA title since 2020.
The Lakers are off to a hot start this season, going 11-4 thanks largely to the play of Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić, the latter of whom was acquired in a shocking, blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks last season.
All-time great LeBron James missed the Lakers’ first 14 games due to sciatica, but he returned to play in L.A.’s 140-126 win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.
The trio of James, Dončić and Reaves has the Lakers looking like one of the teams to beat in the Western Conference this season, which suggests they could be championship contenders, much like the Dodgers have been for the past several years.
