The Los Angeles Lakers are hiring Eric Amsler, a longtime Miami Heat executive, as an assistant general manager, sources told ESPN Wednesday, filling the second of two assistant GM positions Rob Pelinka set out to build this offseason.
Amsler spent two decades with the Heat, starting as an intern in 2004-05 and working his way through scouting, personnel and G League roles. He most recently served as vice president of player personnel and general manager of Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Pelinka previously told reporters the second assistant GM position he was filling would focus on player draft and evaluation processes, including pro scouting, draft scouting and player development. Amsler’s background in personnel and G League operations fits that description.
The Lakers hired Rohan Ramadas, who previously worked for the New Orleans Pelicans, in May to head the team’s salary cap, analytics and strategy department as the first of the two assistant GM hires.
The timing
Amsler’s addition is the first significant change to the Lakers’ leadership since majority owner Mark Walter agreed in August to sell the franchise to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger at a valuation of $12.5 billion. The front office hired him under Pelinka’s basketball operations leadership as that ownership transition moves through its completion process.
The Heat background
Two decades with the same organization, from intern to vice president, represents an unusually deep institutional background for a front office hire. During his time with Miami, Amsler was involved in multiple championship cycles and worked across the talent identification pipeline from college scouting to pro personnel to G League development.
The Sioux Falls Skyforce is one of the more active G League affiliates in terms of developing NBA-ready players and maintaining organizational depth for the Heat. Amsler’s experience running that operation gives him a practical perspective on player development infrastructure that fits Pelinka’s stated goal for the role.
The Lakers’ front office picture
The two assistant GM hires represent a deliberate effort by Pelinka to build out a front office infrastructure that can support the team’s transition into the new ownership structure under Kushner and Iger. Whether the incoming owners will make further changes to the basketball operations leadership was not indicated in Wednesday’s reporting.
Luka Doncic joins the Lakers this season after an offseason trade, and the team’s roster and front office are both in a period of significant transition.
