Coming into the offseason, Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka let it be known that the franchise would be looking to hire two assistant general managers to work under him. One would be focused on analytics while the other would be more in charge of player personnel and scouting.
The first of those hires was made relatively quickly with the franchise bringing in Rohan Ramadas from the New Orleans Pelicans to head the analytics department. Many assumed it was only a matter of time before the personnel hire was made and while there were some reports on potential candidates, nothing came to fruition.
The Lakers would go through the NBA Draft and free agency without that second assistant GM and following the news of the sale of the majority shares of the franchise from Mark Walter to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, there was believed to be some sort of a hiring freeze in terms of front office staff. With so much going on in terms of ownership it would’ve made sense to get that in order before finalizing the front office.
However, that turned out not to be the case as the Lakers have reportedly agreed to bring in Eric Amsler from the Miami Heat as the team’s second assistant general manager.
Who is new Lakers assistant general manager Eric Amsler?
Amsler spent 20 seasons with the Miami Heat, most recently serving as their vice president of player personnel and general manager of the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat’s G League affiliate. Amsler actually began his career in Miami in 2004 joining the franchise as an intern.
He would then work his way up the ranks of the Heat front office, being named scouting and information coordinator in 2005 before moving up to scouting and player personnel coordinator in 2007 and holding that position until 2014.
After that, he became the director of scouting operations in 2015 before being named director of scouting as well as the assistant director of player personnel and assistant general manager of the Sioux Falls Skyforce in 2018. In 2019, he was named director of player personnel and general manager of the Sioux Falls Skyforce before his most recent promotion last year.
In that role as vice president of player personnel for the Heat, Amsler oversaw the franchise’s scouting department and the gathering of all information on potential prospects, draft, professional and G League. He also assisted in personnel matters for both the Heat’s NBA and Skyforce’s G League rosters and scouted domestically and internationally for future prospects.
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