Rob Pelinka, the Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager, said the franchise would be expanding their scouting department as part of their front office build out.
And they took a major step this week.
The Lakers are hiring Pooh Jeter as the franchise’s director of pro scouting.
Jeter, whose legal first name is Eugene, spent the last three seasons with the Trail Blazers in a variety of roles after a 17-year playing career.
He was most recently a player development coach for the Blazers, in addition to being an assistant general manager for the organziation’s G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix.
Jeter opened up to SLAM Magazine in 2024 about his approach to player development.
“One thing I know about player development is people don’t think about the development part,” Jeter told SLAM. “That’s not just basketball. For me to be able to tap in for you to bring out your best don’t really gotta do with basketball; we’re human beings as well. I think the trust that players have with me, they’re able to really let me know what’s going on with them. Because, the basketball stuff is—I’ll be able to help with that, for sure.”
Jeter, a 42-year-old L.A. native who went to high school at Junipero Serra, played professionally in Spain, Israel, China, France, Turkey and Ukraine.
He also played for the Kings during the 2010-11 season.
After playing overseas for 10 straight years (2011-21), Jeter spent two seasons (2021-23) playing for the now-defunct G League Ignite. He averaged 7.4 points and 2.2 assists in 17.3 minutes per game (28 games) in 2022-23 before retiring.
Jeter was inducted into the University of Portland Athletic Hall of Fame on Sept. 27, 2024 after playing for the men’s basketball program from 2002-06.
He’ll report to new assistant general manager Eric Amsler.
