The Los Angeles Lakers are not waiting for their latest ownership transition to be completed before addressing a glaring hole in their basketball operations department.
The Lakers are hiring Miami Heat vice president of player personnel Eric Amsler as an assistant general manager, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday.
Amsler will work under president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka, joining assistant general manager Rohan Ramadas in a newly expanded front office. Ramadas was hired in May to lead the Lakers’ strategy, data systems and analytics operations.
The complementary appointments fulfill Pelinka’s stated plan to hire two assistant general managers with different specialties. Ramadas handles the numbers. Amsler brings more than two decades of scouting, personnel evaluation and organizational experience from one of the NBA’s most stable franchises.
Eric Amsler Brings Heat Championship Experience
Amsler spent more than 22 years with Miami, beginning as an intern before advancing through scouting, personnel and G League roles.
His Heat tenure included three championships and seven NBA Finals appearances. Amsler also worked with Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, giving the Lakers an executive with experience evaluating players at several levels of professional basketball.
The Lakers had pursued Amsler earlier in the offseason, along with Minnesota Timberwolves assistant general manager Steve Senior, Philadelphia 76ers assistant general manager Prosper Karangwa and Utah Jazz vice president of player personnel Bart Taylor. Senior and Karangwa elected to remain with their respective teams.
Landing Amsler finally fills the personnel and scouting position Pelinka discussed after the season.
It is also a noteworthy show of movement from an organization that appeared stuck between ownership groups only days earlier.
Lakers Move Forward During Ownership Turmoil
Mark Walter agreed in August to sell his controlling interest in the Lakers to venture capitalist Joshua Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger. The proposed transaction values the franchise at a record $12.5 billion and remains subject to NBA approval.
Walter had acquired control from the Buss family at a $10 billion valuation in 2025. His rapid reversal came amid federal and Securities and Exchange Commission scrutiny of his wider business empire, although no public finding has established that the Lakers sale resulted from those investigations.
The ownership picture became more contentious when Jeanie Buss challenged an attempt by her siblings to include the family’s remaining 17.8% stake in the sale. Buss has accused family members of circulating false information and is contesting their authority to complete that portion of the transaction.
That uncertainty reportedly slowed the Lakers’ front-office expansion. Multiple team sources had questioned the wisdom of making consequential hires before Kushner and Iger established their organizational direction.
Amsler’s arrival does not settle the ownership dispute, but it ends the impression that every important basketball decision is frozen.
Pelinka now has an analytics specialist in Ramadas and a longtime talent evaluator in Amsler. For a franchise rebuilding around Luka Dončić while changing owners for the second time in a year, establishing that structure may be the most consequential move the Lakers can make before the next trade.
Lakers Make Major Front Office Move Amid Controversial $12.5 Billion Sale